History Of The Mackenzies [128]
his army--an order which was at once obeyed. Shortly after, however, Montrose dissociated himself from the Covenanters, joined the King's side and raised the Royal standard. The Earl of Seaforth soon after this was suspected of lukewarmness for the Covenant. In 1640 the King arrived at York on his way north to reduce the Covenanting Scots, after they had resolved to invade England, and, as a precautionary measure, to imprison or expel all suspected Royalists from the army. Among the suspects are found the Earl of Seaforth, Lord Reay, and several others, who were taken before the Assembly, kept in ward at Edinburgh for two months; and in 1641, on the King's arrival in Scotland, the Earl of Traquair, who had been summoned before Parliament as an opponent to the Lords of the Covenant succeeded in persuading the Earls of Montrose, Wigton, Athole, Hume, and Seaforth (who had meanwhile escaped), and several other influential chiefs, to join in a bond against the Covenanters.
Soon after this Montrose leaves Elgin with the main body of his army, and marches towards the Bog of Gight, accompanied by the Earl of Seaforth, Sir Robert Gordon, Grant of Grant, Mackenzie of Pluscardine, and several other gentlemen who came to him at Elgin, to support the King. After this, however, fearing that depredations might be committed upon his followers by a garrison of two regiments then stationed at Inverness, and the other Covenanters of that district, he permitted Seaforth, Grant of Grant, and other Morayshire gentlemen, to return home in order to defend their estates, but before permitting them to depart he made them swear allegiance to the King and promise that they should never again under any circumstances take up arms against his Majesty or any of his loyal subjects, and to rejoin him with all their available forces as soon as they were able to do so. Seaforth, however, with unaccountable want of decision, disregarded his oath, again joined the Covenanters, and excused himself in a letter to the Committee of Estates, saying that he had joined the Royalists through fear of Montrose, at the same time avowing that he would abide by "the good cause to his death"--a promise not much to be trusted.
He is soon again in the field, this time against Montrose. Wishart says that "the Earl of Seaforth, a very powerful man in those parts (and one of whom he entertained a better opinion) with the garrison of Inver-ness, which were old soldiers, and the whole strength of Moray, Ross, Sutherland, and Caithness, and the sept of the Frasers, were ready to meet him with a desperate army of 5000 horse and foot." Montrose had only 1500--the Macdonalds of Glengarry and the Highlanders of Athol having previously gone home, against the earnest solicitude of Montrose that they should complete the campaign, according to their usual custom, to deposit the booty obtained in their repeated victories under their great chief, but on the plea of repairing their houses and other property which had been so much injured by their enemies in their absence. The great commander, however, although he knew many of the garrison to be old soldiers, decided to attack the superior numbers against him, correctly surmising that a great many of his opponents were newly raised recruits "from among husband-men, cowherds, tavern-boys and kitchen-boys," and would be raw and unserviceable. Fortunately for Seaforth and his forces, matters turned out otherwise. The gallant Marquis, on his way to Inverness, was informed of Argyll's descent on Lochaber, and, instantly changing his route, he fell down upon him at Inverlochy so unexpectedly, that when Argyll, by an ignominious flight in one of his boats, made himself secure, he had the well-merited reward of personal cowardice and pusillanimity of witnessing fifteen hundred of his devoted adherents cut down, among whom were a great number of the leading gentlemen of the clan, who deserved to fight under a better and less cowardly commander.
Among those who fell were Campbell of Auchinbreck,
Soon after this Montrose leaves Elgin with the main body of his army, and marches towards the Bog of Gight, accompanied by the Earl of Seaforth, Sir Robert Gordon, Grant of Grant, Mackenzie of Pluscardine, and several other gentlemen who came to him at Elgin, to support the King. After this, however, fearing that depredations might be committed upon his followers by a garrison of two regiments then stationed at Inverness, and the other Covenanters of that district, he permitted Seaforth, Grant of Grant, and other Morayshire gentlemen, to return home in order to defend their estates, but before permitting them to depart he made them swear allegiance to the King and promise that they should never again under any circumstances take up arms against his Majesty or any of his loyal subjects, and to rejoin him with all their available forces as soon as they were able to do so. Seaforth, however, with unaccountable want of decision, disregarded his oath, again joined the Covenanters, and excused himself in a letter to the Committee of Estates, saying that he had joined the Royalists through fear of Montrose, at the same time avowing that he would abide by "the good cause to his death"--a promise not much to be trusted.
He is soon again in the field, this time against Montrose. Wishart says that "the Earl of Seaforth, a very powerful man in those parts (and one of whom he entertained a better opinion) with the garrison of Inver-ness, which were old soldiers, and the whole strength of Moray, Ross, Sutherland, and Caithness, and the sept of the Frasers, were ready to meet him with a desperate army of 5000 horse and foot." Montrose had only 1500--the Macdonalds of Glengarry and the Highlanders of Athol having previously gone home, against the earnest solicitude of Montrose that they should complete the campaign, according to their usual custom, to deposit the booty obtained in their repeated victories under their great chief, but on the plea of repairing their houses and other property which had been so much injured by their enemies in their absence. The great commander, however, although he knew many of the garrison to be old soldiers, decided to attack the superior numbers against him, correctly surmising that a great many of his opponents were newly raised recruits "from among husband-men, cowherds, tavern-boys and kitchen-boys," and would be raw and unserviceable. Fortunately for Seaforth and his forces, matters turned out otherwise. The gallant Marquis, on his way to Inverness, was informed of Argyll's descent on Lochaber, and, instantly changing his route, he fell down upon him at Inverlochy so unexpectedly, that when Argyll, by an ignominious flight in one of his boats, made himself secure, he had the well-merited reward of personal cowardice and pusillanimity of witnessing fifteen hundred of his devoted adherents cut down, among whom were a great number of the leading gentlemen of the clan, who deserved to fight under a better and less cowardly commander.
Among those who fell were Campbell of Auchinbreck,