The Marquess of Montrose

                              The Marquess of Montrose  

James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose was born in 1612. He was a soldier and poet who gained success and fame during the civil wars of 1638-51. He has gained an outstanding fame in the history of these times both in terms of popular fiction and in formal histories. Montrose signed the National Covenant in 1638, subsequently becoming one of the principal Covenanter leaders In the Bishop’s Wars of 1638-1641. He played an important part at the Battle of Newburn in 1640 where he lead a cavalry charge which routed a Royalist army which was then opposing the advance of the Covenanting army in to the city of Newcastle.

                     The Break with the Covenanting Movement

Montrose increasingly distanced himself from the Covenanting movement lead by the Earl of Argyll. Before finally breaking with the movement over the signing of the Solemn League and Covenant in September 1643 . He was made a Marquess of Montrose by King Charles I. Being then appointed Lord Lieutenant of Scotland in 1644  and Captain General the year after by the increasingly desperate king.

                                   Montrose’s Year of Victories

The Marquess of Montrose then promptly raised a small army. Including a contingent of 2000 troops under Alasdair MacColla. These excellent soldiers came largely from the MacDonald clan in Ireland where they had been driven by the machinations of the Earl of Argyle. Understandably the MacDonald’s had developed an intense feud with the Clan Campbell who lead by the Earl of Argyle were prominent supporters of the Covenanting regime in Scotland. During the following year Montrose embarked on a spectacular campaign against the Covenanting controlled Scottish government which directly impacted on the outcome of the Civil war in England. These events are outlined in the following post.