Argyll's Rising | |||||||
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An illustration of Argyll's capture | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Scotland | Covenanter rebels | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
John Murray George Douglas | Archibald Campbell Patrick Hume John Cochrane (POW) Duncan Campbell Richard Rumbold John Ayloffe | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
c. 10,000 | 1,500–2,500 [lower-alpha 1] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Unknown | Unknown killed and wounded 323+ captured |
Argyll's Rising, also known as Argyll's Rebellion, was an attempt in June 1685 to overthrow James II and VII. Led by Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll, the rising was intended to tie down Royal forces in Scotland while a simultaneous rebellion under James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth began in England. Both rebellions were backed by dissident Protestants opposed to the accession of the Roman Catholic James to the throne.
Argyll, chief of Clan Campbell, planned to raise several thousand men from his own estates and expected to receive additional support from Presbyterian dissidents. He sailed from Holland on 2 May with around 300 men, but on landing in Scotland attracted few recruits. Hampered by Argyll's inexperience as a commander and disagreements amongst the rebel leaders, and pursued by government militia under the Marquess of Atholl, the rebels began to disperse in mid June after an abortive invasion of Lowland Scotland. Most of their leaders were captured, including Argyll, who was executed on 30 June.
In February 1685, James II and VII, a Catholic, came to power with widespread support in all three of his kingdoms. In largely Catholic Ireland, this was due to hopes he would restore his co-religionists to their lands and offices; in Protestant Scotland and England, it was driven by a desire for stability. The Wars of the Three Kingdoms meant many feared the consequences of bypassing the 'natural heir', especially as James had yet to produce a legitimate son and was expected to be succeeded by his Protestant daughter Mary. [1]
Although the Church of Scotland, or kirk, strongly opposed Catholicism, most argued there was no religious or legal justification for taking up arms. Nevertheless, a significant minority opposed both James and those who had regained control of the kirk under the Rescissory Act 1661. The Act also required ministers to renounce the 1638 Covenant; around 270 refused and lost their positions, the majority based in Southwest Scotland, an area dominated by the Campbell Earls of Argyll. [2] These dissidents held religious services in the open fields, known as conventicles, which often attracted thousands of worshippers, and were subject to increasing persecution. [3]
Despite his father's role in the Covenanter government of 1638 to 1651, Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll became a leading figure in Charles II's Scottish administration. However, by the 1670s his power in the West Highlands was seen as a threat to royal authority, as well as royal income. [4] In 1679, a failed conventicle rebellion resulted in the fall of his political ally John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale. This left him vulnerable to attack, which was led by Lord Advocate Rosehaugh, chief prosecutor of the 1679 rebels. [4]
He was particularly mistrusted by James, who clumsily asked him to convert to Catholicism as a personal favour, which he refused. After objecting to inconsistencies in the 1681 Scottish Test Act, [lower-alpha 2] he was convicted of treason and sentenced to death, a charge widely regarded as driven by James's vindictiveness. [6] Although Charles wanted to destroy Argyll's power base, he had little desire to see Argyll executed: Argyll escaped, or was allowed to escape from prison, and went into hiding in England. He eventually fled to the Dutch Republic after being accused of complicity in the 1683 Rye House Plot, an alleged attempt to assassinate both Charles and James. [7]
Here he joined a group of English and Scottish political exiles, who were protected by James' daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange. United by little more than opposition to the current regime, they included Whigs opposed to James's succession, associates of Charles's illegitimate Protestant son Monmouth, and republican radicals. Among the most prominent were the moderate Whig Lord Melville, Sir Patrick Hume, who defended many of the 1679 rebels, Sir John Cochrane of Ochiltree, and former Cromwellian soldier Richard Rumbold, a leading member of the Rye House Plot. [7]
Argyll began planning an insurrection in Scotland in early 1684, initially aimed at regaining his lands and titles. Although he sought funding of £30,000, he was only able to raise £10,000, most of it supplied by English sympathisers, including Ann Smith, Patience Ward, William Rumbold and John Locke. [8] This was used to purchase military equipment in Amsterdam, concealed as destined for the Venetian Republic; these precautions proved of little value, since the Scottish government were kept informed of the plot from its beginning. [9]
Preparations became more urgent following the death of Charles II in February 1685, and the accession of James. It made sense to co-ordinate with Monmouth, but Argyll was deeply suspicious of his fellow exile, and had to be persuaded to meet him by Hume and Robert Ferguson. [9] In early March 1685, Monmouth came to Amsterdam; they agreed he would take responsibility for England, the south of Ireland, and foreign relations, while Argyll would deal with Scotland and northern Ireland. [10] To ensure co-ordination between the two, a leading Scots exile, Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun, agreed to accompany Monmouth, while the English rebels Rumbold and John Ayloffe went with Argyll. [11]
Most significantly, Monmouth undertook not to declare himself king unless proposed by Parliament, and to depart no more than six days after Argyll. The Scottish landing was intended to be a diversion, the main thrust being Monmouth's invasion of England, but in the event, he did not sail until nearly a month later. This allowed James to focus on Argyll, while a militia force under the Marquess of Atholl was ordered to occupy his proposed recruiting area of Argyllshire. [12] Cochrane chaired a further meeting in April attended by Argyll and his third son Charles. While it was agreed Argyll should lead the expedition, he was forced to accept a Council that would approve all major decisions. [13]
Weapons to equip 20,000 men were loaded on three ships, Anna, David and Sophia, along with around 300 men, mainly Scots serving in the Dutch military. After waiting several days in the Zuider Zee for a favourable wind, Argyll's forces eventually left Amsterdam at about 7 o'clock in the evening on 2 May. [14] Blown by a gale, they arrived off the Moray Firth early on the morning of 5 May, intending to reach the western coast by passing north of Orkney. However the wind died away, a sea fog descended, and the vessels missed the passage between Orkney and Shetland. They anchored in Swanbister Bay on Orkney's south coast and Argyll's chamberlain William Spence, who had an uncle living in Kirkwall, got permission from Argyll to go ashore to obtain a pilot. [15]
Disaster struck when Spence and his companion Dr. Blackader were arrested in Kirkwall, alerting the authorities to the rebels' presence; Hume proposed rescuing their colleagues, while Argyll and Cochrane suggested taking hostages. After this was eventually agreed, a landing party took 7 local gentry prisoner; Argyll wrote to the Bishop of Orkney proposing an exchange, but received no response. The rebels and their hostages continued west, reaching the Sound of Mull by the evening of 11 May. [16] On arriving at the Isle of Mull, Charles Campbell was sent ashore to Lorne, where he attempted to raise local heritors who held their land from his father. In the interim, the main invasion force sailed southwards to Islay; Argyll decided to land the majority of his troops by night and surprise Atholl's militia, disembarking at one o'clock in the morning of the 17th. [17]
Atholl's men escaped to Kintyre some three hours earlier and the rebels landed at Kilarrow unopposed. Although the well-equipped rebel soldiers made a good impression, Argyll only secured 80 local recruits rather than the 600 he had expected. [19] On 20 May the fleet crossed over to Kintyre and landed at Campbeltown, centre of Argyll's regional influence; here he had two manifestos read out, the first claiming he wanted only to retrieve his estates. [20]
Drawn up by James Stewart of Goodtrees, the second Declaration was a lengthy recital of grievances that failed to specify an alternative. [20] This reflected the dilemma faced by the rebel leadership; the Presbyterian dissidents, or Cameronians, who were their most likely recruits wanted to overthrow the kirk establishment, thereby guaranteeing opposition from the moderate majority. The Cameronians were already deeply suspicious of Argyll, who had been part of the administration that persecuted them in the 1670s, and since the Declaration omitted any mention of the 1638 Covenant, they withheld their support. [21]
Argyll mustered his forces in Kintyre on 22 May. Three understrength companies of recruits had followed from Islay; more were formed using new volunteers from Kintyre, who were issued with Dutch weapons, and given colours written with the mottoes "For the Protestant Religion" and "Against Popery, Prelacy and Erastianism ". Rumbold and Ayloffe were both given colonelcies of regiments, of horse and foot respectively, formed from recruits enlisted in Campbeltown.
The original plan was for a quick descent on the Lowlands to mobilise Covenanter support before government troops could prevent it. [22] The idea seemed validated when George Barclay arrived from the Presbyterian heartland of Ayrshire, claiming to have hundreds of potential recruits, while some of the men recruited on Islay had already deserted. [23] Argyll ordered his forces to Tarbert, Kintyre, to link up with Campbell clan levies, where on 27 May they were joined by 1,200 men under his son Charles and Sir Duncan Campbell of Auchinbreck, bringing their total strength to around 2,500. [24] The rebel infantry were organised into three regiments, with Ayloffe, Campbell of Auchinbreck and Robert Elphinstone of Lapness as colonels. [lower-alpha 3] One of Auchinbreck's officers was Robert Duncanson, later notorious for his role in the Glencoe Massacre, whose father was minister at Kilmartin. [27]
Lacking confirmation of Monmouth's landing, divisions emerged within the rebel leadership. With their estates occupied by Atholl's militia, Argyll was unable to raise his tenants, and felt the Campbell levies would not fight while their homes remained at risk. [28] He first decided to march on Inveraray, but under pressure from his Council agreed to send a smaller force to the Lowlands by sea to begin recruiting there. To general frustration, he abandoned this plan the next day; an enraged Cochrane said he would land on the Ayrshire coast "even if he were alone and had nothing but a hayfork in his hand". [28]
Colleagues later complained of Argyll's "peremptory" style, while he accused them of being deliberately obstructive, although he established a good relationship with Rumbold. Unlike Monmouth, Argyll was not widely popular even among his own tenants, whose land rents quadrupled between 1665 and 1685; [29] his Campbell rival Breadalbane raised 800 men to fight for the government. [30] His army never numbered more than 2,500, with some estimates placing it under 1,500, a disappointing figure given the 8,000 who turned out for the 1679 rebellion. [31]
The rebels crossed to Bute seeking manpower and supplies, an exercise which proved of little value. They wasted three days looking for boats to transport them, attempts to requisition more on Great Cumbrae failed when Government soldiers crossed from Largs and destroyed them, while looting restricted the number of recruits. Hume wanted to make for the Lowlands, while Argyll insisted they deal with Atholl first; they compromised by sending Cochrane to Renfrewshire with 200 men. Despite routing a troop of militia near Greenock, he found little support for the Rising, and on his return supported Argyll's view. [33]
Argyll established a base at the old castle of Eilean Dearg, Loch Riddon, which was strengthened by additional earthworks; once completed, his ships unloaded their weapons and supplies. Rumbold and his cavalry, plus 300 infantry under Major Henderson, were sent to hold Glendaruel, which ran into Loch Riddon from the north. Rumbold also seized Ardkinglas Castle near Inveraray; Argyll saw this as an opportunity to capture the whole of Argyllshire, but other members of the Council vetoed the idea. [34]
On 11 June, the same day Monmouth finally landed in Dorset, the Council decided to begin a march to the Lowlands, leaving a garrison at Eilean Dearg under Elphinstone of Lapness. [35] Shortly after, Elphinstone was attacked by a Royal Navy squadron including the frigates Kingfisher , Falcon, Mermaid. The garrison abandoned the fort, along with their supplies and the hostages from Orkney, rejoining their colleagues near Loch Long. News of this disaster had a serious effect on morale, and desertions increased. [36]
Low on supplies, the rebels decided to make for the strongly Whig city of Glasgow. Atholl was in pursuit, and the Earl of Dumbarton was stationed near Glasgow in readiness with a force of militia and regulars. Unknown to the rebels, a number of Covenanters had assembled in Wigtownshire with the intention of joining Argyll, but the preacher Alexander Peden had addressed the gatherings and reminded them of Argyll and Monmouth's role in previous repression. [37]
On 16 June the rebels, reduced to less than 1,000 by desertion, crossed the Leven near Dumbarton. On the Stirling road they sighted a government detachment and Argyll, Cochrane and Ayloffe were in favour of an immediate attack, hoping a quick victory would rally support: Hume, however, insisted they continue to Glasgow. In the event, a disastrous night march on 17 June resulted in the dispersal of the remaining forces, despite Rumbold and Argyll's efforts to keep order; Rumbold became separated from the main group of insurgents, and most of the remaining Highlanders deserted. Argyll held a final conference with Cochrane at an inn in the village of Old Kilpatrick by which point he was apparently "scarcely able to speak". [38]
Cochrane allegedly advised him to return to the Highlands with his own clansmen, rather than crossing the River Clyde, although Argyll's own account claimed he was abandoned by his Lowland colleagues. He set off north with a small group of close associates, but after a few miles the group broke up; Campbell of Auchinbreck tried to continue to Argyllshire to raise further men while Argyll went south, accompanied only by Major Fullarton. He disguised himself as a countryman acting as Fullarton's guide: he obtained a farmer's clothing and had already grown a long beard during his previous exile. The two men were stopped by militia while fording a river near Inchinnan, and taken prisoner. [39]
Cochrane, accompanied by Hume, Major James Henderson and about 150 men, had forced a crossing of the Clyde near Old Kilpatrick. After suffering further desertions and driving off a group of militia, a remaining group of 75 reached a place called the Muirdykes, or Muirdykes Mount, near Lochwinnoch, on the afternoon of 18 June. [40] They drew up in a small close protected by low stone walls and were attacked by a troop of dragoons led by Cochrane's relative William, Lord Ross. Cochrane rejected Ross's offer of quarter and successfully defended their position until nightfall; the regulars took several casualties including the wounding of their commander Captain William Cleland. [41] On moving off under cover of darkness the rebels discovered that the dragoons had fled towards Kilmarnock. Hume later wrote "wer I to choose 75 men upon my life’s hazard; I would not reject one of that 75 (and no more ther was) that came of that night". [40]
On 20 June Cochrane received word that Argyll had been taken prisoner, and released the remaining rebels from service, telling them to escape as best they could. Cochrane was captured a week later in his uncle's house in Renfrew. Ayloffe was also taken prisoner, unsuccessfully attempting suicide shortly afterwards. [42] Rumbold was intercepted by militia on the night of 20/21 June near Lesmahagow; on being called to surrender, he was supposed to have said that he "came there to fight for death, not for life". He killed one assailant, wounded two, and captured only when his horse was shot from under him: he was brought to Edinburgh seriously wounded. [43]
While it had been feared "Argyll might have given much trouble", the ease with which the Rising was defeated surprised contemporaries. [44] Lord Fountainhall commented on the "sillinesse" of its end, noting "every one reputed Argile valiant and witty, and Sir John Cochrane neither, and yet Argile sneaks away from the hazard, and Sir John fights stoutly like a man; only, the greatest coward when straitned [...] will fight desperately eneugh". [45] As Argyll was technically incapable of committing further offences since his dubious 1681 treason conviction, he was hurriedly beheaded on 30 June under the 1681 charge, despite acts committed in the interim. Most observers commented on his good humour while awaiting execution; he spent much of the time petitioning on behalf of his tenants, asking that they should not be penalised for their involvement. [46]
Rumbold was tried, convicted of treason on 26th and executed the same day, allegedly to ensure he did not die of his wounds first. [43] Argyll, who sharply criticised Hume and Cochrane in his final letters, wrote "Poor Rumbold was a great support to me and a brave man and died Christianly." His speech on the scaffold was widely printed at the time and quoted afterwards, especially the phrase "none comes into this world with a saddle on his back, neither any booted and spurred to ride him..." [47] Taken to London, Ayloffe was executed at Temple Bar on 30 October, along with Richard Nelthorpe, a fellow Rye House conspirator captured with Monmouth. [48]
Cochrane was said to have saved himself by agreeing to support James, though a more probable explanation is his father agreed to pay a fine of £5,000. Several other prominent rebels were pardoned, including Argyll's nephew Archibald, who went on to become Bishop of Aberdeen and a non-juror. Accompanied by Duncanson, Campbell of Auchinbreck escaped to Holland, returning after the Glorious Revolution. He petitioned Parliament in 1690, claiming Royalist Maclean clansmen had destroyed Carnasserie Castle, stolen 2,000 head of cattle, hanged his relative Dugald MacTavish of Dunardry, and "barbarously murdered" his uncle Alexander Campbell of Strondour. [49]
Of the rebel rank and file, 177 were transported to Jamaica and 100 to New Jersey. [50] Amongst those who suffered most from the effects of the Rising were hundreds of Covenanters already held in Government prisons: although they had not taken part in the rebellion, their treatment became substantially worse, and many were also transported. However, the Rising was generally less severely punished than the Monmouth Rebellion, possibly as the authorities recognised many of Argyll's men had been bound by feudal obligations to follow him. Despite the defeat of Argyll's Rising, many of those involved in it would a few years later come to be involved in the Glorious Revolution. [51]
Clan Campbell is a Highland Scottish clan, historically one of the largest and most powerful of the Highland clans. The Clan Campbell lands are in Argyll and within their lands lies Ben Cruachan. The chief of the clan became Earl of Argyll and later Duke of Argyll.
The Monmouth Rebellion, also known as the Pitchfork Rebellion, the Revolt of the West or the West Country rebellion, was an attempt to depose James II, who in February 1685 succeeded his brother Charles II as king of England, Scotland and Ireland. A group of dissident Protestants led by James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, eldest illegitimate son of Charles II, opposed James largely due to his Catholicism.
Duke of Argyll is a title created in the peerage of Scotland in 1701 and in the peerage of the United Kingdom in 1892. The earls, marquesses, and dukes of Argyll were for several centuries among the most powerful noble families in Scotland. As such, they played a major role in Scottish history throughout the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. The Duke of Argyll also holds the hereditary titles of chief of Clan Campbell and Master of the Household of Scotland.
The Rye House Plot of 1683 was a plan to assassinate King Charles II of England and his brother James, Duke of York. The royal party went from Westminster to Newmarket to see horse races and were expected to make the return journey on 1 April 1683, but because there was a major fire in Newmarket on 22 March, the races were cancelled, and the King and the Duke returned to London early. As a result, the planned attack never took place.
Archibald Campbell, Marquess of Argyll, 8th Earl of Argyll, Chief of Clan Campbell was a Scottish nobleman, politician, and peer. The de facto head of Scotland's government during most of the conflict of the 1640s and 1650s known as the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, he was a major figure in the Covenanter movement that fought for the maintenance of the Presbyterian religion against the Stuart monarchy's attempts to impose episcopacy. He is often remembered as the principal opponent of the royalist general James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose.
Colin Campbell, 6th Earl of Argyll was a Scottish nobleman and politician. He was appointed to the Lord Chancellorship of Scotland.
The Battle of Tippermuir was the first battle James Graham, 1st Marquis of Montrose, fought for King Charles I in the Scottish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. During the battle, Montrose's Royalist forces routed an army of the Covenanter-dominated Scottish government under John Wemyss, Lord Elcho. The government side took heavy losses.
Alasdair Mac Colla Chiotaich MacDhòmhnaill, also known by the English variant of his name Sir Alexander MacDonald, was a military officer best known for his participation in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, notably the Irish Confederate Wars and Montrose's Royalist campaign in Scotland during 1644–5. A member of the Gaelic gentry of the Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg, a branch of the Clan Donald active in the Hebrides and Ireland, Mac Colla is particularly notable for the very large number of oral traditions and legends which his life inspired in the Highlands.
Argyll's Regiment of Foot was a Scottish infantry regiment formed in April 1689 to suppress Jacobite opposition in the Highlands. In February 1692 it took part in the Glencoe Massacre, moved to Brentford near London in May then to Flanders in early 1693 where it fought in the Nine Years War. It became Lord Lorne's Regiment in April 1694 and was disbanded on February 1697.
Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll was a Scottish peer and soldier.
The Battle of Glenlivet was a Scottish clan battle fought on 3 October 1594 near Glenlivet, Moray, Scotland. It was fought between Protestant forces loyal to King James VI of Scotland who were commanded by Archibald Campbell, 7th Earl of Argyll, against Catholic forces who were commanded by George Gordon, 6th Earl of Huntly, and Francis Hay, 9th Earl of Erroll. The Catholics won a decisive victory in the battle, but in the aftermath were subdued by King James.
Richard Rumbold (1622–1685) was a Parliamentarian soldier and political radical, exiled for his role in the 1683 Rye House Plot and later executed for taking part in the 1685 Argyll's Rising.
The Battle of Loup Hill took place near Loup Hill in Kintyre on 16 May 1689, during the Jacobite rising of 1689, a connected conflict of the Williamite War in Ireland.
Sir Duncan Campbell (1597–1645), 2nd Baronet and 6th Lord of Auchinbreck, was a Scottish landowner and soldier. He was commander of the Marquess of Argyll, Archibald Campbell's troops, (Covenanters) in Ireland.
The Campbell of Auchinbreck family was founded by Duncan Campbell in Glassary, Argyll, Scotland. He was the son of Lord Duncan Campbell, first Lord Campbell of the Clan Campbell, by his second wife Margaret, daughter of Sir John Stewart of Blackhall, the illegitimate son of King Robert III of Scotland. The family of the Lords Campbell later became Dukes of Argyll, and remain chiefs of Clan Campbell. Duncan Campbell, as a grandson of King Robert III, received a considerable estate confirmed by royal charter dated 19 June 1452. The family remained at their estate of Auchinbreck, from which they took their title, until 1641. The Campbells of Auchinbreck were commissioned to provide military training and were used by the Earls of Argyll as military support. In 1628 the then head of the family of Campbells in Auchinbreck received a baronetcy, which included a grant of North American land in Nova Scotia.
John Ayloffe was an English lawyer, political activist, and satirist, described as "one of the most consistently committed radicals of the century". According to his contemporary and political opponent Sir Roger L'Estrange, there were few 'more daring men for a desperate exploit'.
Sir John Cochrane of Ochiltree was a Scottish nobleman, soldier, and conspirator.
Lady Anna Mackenzie (1621–1707), also Ann MacKenzie, was a Scottish courtier, wife of the first Earl of Balcarres and the mother of the second and third. After her first husband died, she married Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll. She was a governess to William III when he was a child. Mackenzie suffered because she was a Jacobite and her second husband was executed for leading a rising against James VII and II which was intended to support the Monmouth Rebellion. She worked to keep together the estates of Balcarres despite the tumultuous times in which she lived and her family's support of the Jacobite cause. Her memoirs were published more than a century after her death.
Events from the year 1685 in the Kingdom of Scotland.
Ann Smith was an English anti-Catholic political activist. A devout Baptist, she and her family sheltered the rebel 9th Earl of Argyll when he was in hiding in London and fled with him to the Spanish Netherlands in 1683. She lived with her husband in Utrecht and following his death funded Argyll's Rising in Scotland and the contemporaneous Monmouth Rebellion in England. She hosted fellow conspirator Elizabeth Gaunt in Amsterdam and received a royal pardon for her activism in 1686, after which time records of her life cease.