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Opposing forces

Royalists

Portrait of Charles I by Anthony van Dyck, c. 1635

Charles' strategy was to rely on his allies inside Scotland, combined with concentric blows from outside the country to cause a collapse of the Covenanter forces. In north-east Scotland George Gordon, 2nd Marquess of Huntly, raised an army of the king's supporters aiming to take control of the region, while James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton was to land a force in the Firth of Forth. These were to be aided by Randal MacDonnell, 1st Marquess of Antrim, who was to raise his followers in Ireland and Scotland with the aim of gaining control of the western Highlands and islands. The king meanwhile rallied an English army at Berwick-upon-Tweed. It is unclear if Charles intended to wait for the collapse of the Covenanter forces before entering Scotland in triumph, or if he intended to fight his way to Edinburgh.

Irish Royalists

Hamilton suggested to Charles in May 1638 that an army raised and paid for by Antrim should be the first line of offence in western Scotland, supported where possible by Wentworth, Lord Deputy of Ireland. In return the king promised Antrim "whatsoever land he can conquer from them [the Campbells], he, having pretense of right, he shall have the same". Antrim would manage to raise 5000 foot and 200 horse, but a failure of communication with the king, and a lack of any form of support from the authorities in Dublin would ultimately lead to the expedition being aborted.

English militias

In 1639 England had no standing army and the force Charles ordered to muster consisted of the militia of the northern counties, a special levy of 6,000 volunteers and additional horse troops raised through invoking half-forgotten feudal obligations of the king's tenants-in-chief. By March this army numbered 20,000. The militia regiments should have consisted of trained yeomanry and minor gentry, but in practice these men had made use of a substitution clause in the Militia Act to send the lower classes instead.

Naval blockade

Under the command of Hamilton, a flotilla of ships carrying 5,000 men sailed up the Firth of Forth on 1 May 1639. Although named general of the king's forces in Scotland, Hamilton would increasingly look to secure a negotiated settlement, while also looking to his' own preservation. Fearing the Covenanters would seize his estates Hamilton failed to put ashore, instead remaining aboard the ships.

Covenanters

Alexander Leslie

Following the Union of the Crowns the need for constant military training in Scotland had diminished. Some men had seen action in the western Isles and in the Highlands, but these campaigns had involved few lowlanders and only the clans had large reserves of trained manpower as a consequence of military training remaining an important part of a Highland man's education. Alexander Leslie, a veteran of the Swedish army, returned to Scotland in the summer of 1638 and began working as a military advisor to the Covenanters. Leslie managed to tactfully combine the disparate elements at his disposal, making use of veterans returning to Scotland from the Thirty Year's War to train and lead the army, without alienating the nobles and lairds who presumed it was their right and duty to recruit men in the localities and to lead them. Sufficient numbers of veterans recalled to Scotland would return to train the army in time for the campaign of 1639, and Leslie was also able to advise on the procurement of arms from the continent.

The Covenanters' strategy was to gain control of the royal castles, suppress support for the king within Scotland, and prevent a landing from Ireland. Leslie would be granted a commission as general of all Scottish forces on 9 May, deliberately chosen as someone who stood outside the tensions which could have caused rivalry and feuding which may have undermined the Covenanters' efforts. With internal threats dealt with Leslie's strategy was simply to build up an army to deter an attack, with no thought of entering England.

Campaign

Within Scotland

Aberdeen

Dumbarton

Edinburgh

Inverness

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Key locations in Scotland; First Bishops War 1639

The Covenanters campaign started in February 1639 with the seizure of Inverness burgh and castle. Opposition in north-east Scotland was led by the Marquess of Huntly who raised the Royalists of Aberdeenshire and Banffshire on 13 February, but he failes to gain control of the north-east. On 30 March a covenanter army under the command of James Graham, Earl of Montrose, and Alexander Leslie entered the Royalist burgh of Aberdeen and captured Huntly. Parallel to this, Covenanter forces also captured Edinburgh and Dumbarton castles on 21 and 26 March respectively, securing the capital and reducing the possibility of a landing by Irish forces.

Huntly's second son, the Viscount Aboyne, took command of the Royalists in north-east Scotland following his father's capture, and entered Aberdeen on 6 June but apparently lacked a clear plan. By 15 June his men had only advanced as far as Stonehaven, 15 miles south of Aberdeen. Marischal mustered the men of the Mearns and his cannon fire forced the Royalists to retreat to Aberdeen, where they fortified the Bridge of Dee. The Battle of the Bridge of Dee was fought on 18-19 June, neither side realizing peace had already been declared at the Treaty of Berwick. The skirmish was a victory for the Covenanters, now being led by the Earl of Montrose, who scattered the Royalist forces.

Anglo-Scottish border

Duns Law

Berwick

Kelso

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Key locations Scottish Borders; First Bishops War 1639

On 20 May Alexander Leslie concentrated a force of 12,000-20,000 on Duns Law, which he fortified. Charles moved his force north from York to a fortified camp at Birks, west of Berwick. On 3 June the English received intelligence of a Covenanter force based at Kelso, within striking distance of the English camp. Holland was given command of 1,000 horse and 3,000 foot and ordered to drive the Covenanters out of Kelso if possible. During the march the foot fell behind the horse, and when Holland reached the Covenanter lines he perceived himself to be outnumbered, choosing to withdraw. It is likely Leslie had managed to deceive the English by using the lay of the land and the formation of his men to make his force appear larger than it was. This incident led to a loss of morale among the English soldiers and generals.

It became clear that the king's strategy for the subjugation of Scotland had failed. Faced with low resources and the Covenanters in control of the strong points which had historically slowed down invasions from England, Charles' generals advised against becoming bogged down in a long campaign. On 18 June the king and Covenanter nobles signed the Treaty of Berwick, stipulating a return to the status quo ante bellum.

Aftermath

The Treaty of Berwick was an unsatisfactory compromise for both sides. While the Covenanters position in Scotland was maintained, they had failed to gain royal approval for their policies, and the armies of the king had suffered humiliation, leaving the king no closer to gaining control of Scotland. The treaty did allow for a general assembly of the church to be held, as well as a parliament. The 1639 General Assembly held in Edinburgh ratified the abolition of episcopacy and the Covenanters prepared a radical political and constitutional agenda for the parliament which met on 31 August. John Stewart, Earl of Traquair and King's Commissioner in Scotland prorogued this session of parliament in an attempt to prevent this constitutional attack. This agenda was enacted by the Scottish Parliamentary sessions of 1640-1641, weakening the royal prerogative in Scotland and strengthening the powers of the Scottish Parliament.

Although aborted, Antrim's intended expedition was not without significance. In Scotland, it forced Argyll and his supporters into the Covenanting camp, while in England it showed Charles was willing to conspire with an Irish papist against his protestant subjects, helping fuel rumours of popish plots circulating around London. Argyll's move to the Covenanters was important militarily, as the highland clansmen he brought with him represented a reserve of trained manpower otherwise unavailable to the Covenanters.

Sources

• Archibald, Malcolm (2016). Dance If Ye Can: A Dictionary of Scottish Battles. Creativia. ISBN 978-1536821796.
• Fissel, Mark Charles (1994). The Bishops' Wars: Charles I's Campaigns Against Scotland, 1638-1640. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-46686-8. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
• Furgol, Edward (1998). "The Civil Wars in Scotland". In Kenyon, John; Ohlmeyer, Jane (eds.). The Civil Wars: A Military History of England, Scotland, and Ireland 1638-1660. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-866222-X.
• Helicon (2018). "Bishops' Wars". The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide. Helicon - Credo Reference. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
• Kenyon, John; Ohlmeyer, Jane (1998a). "The Background to the Civil Wars in the Stuart Kingdoms". In Kenyon, John; Ohlmeyer, Jane (eds.). The Civil Wars: A Military History of England, Scotland, and Ireland 1638-1660. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-866222-X.
• Kenyon, John; Ohlmeyer, Jane (1998b). "Chronology". In Kenyon, John; Ohlmeyer, Jane (eds.). The Civil Wars: A Military History of England, Scotland, and Ireland 1638-1660. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-866222-X.
• Kishlansky, Mark A; Morrill, John (2008). "Charles I (1600–1649)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/5143. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
• Macinnes, Allan I. (15 July 2014). "Covenanting Exchanges with the French Court during the Wars for the Three Kingdoms". E-rea. Revue électronique d'études sur le monde anglophone. 11 (2). doi:10.4000/erea.3678. ISSN 1638-1718. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
• Ohlmeyer, Jane (2008). "MacDonnell, Randal, marquess of Antrim". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/17462. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
• Scally, John J. (2013). "Hamilton, James, first duke of Hamilton". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/12087. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
• Stevenson, David (2007). "Leslie, Alexander, first earl of Leven". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/16482. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
• Young, John (2001). "Covenant, Wars of the". The Oxford Companion to Scottish History. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acref/9780199234820.001.0001. ISBN 9780199234820. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
• Young, John (October 2013). "Scotland and Ulster connections in the seventeenth century : Sir Robert Adair of Kinhilt and the Scottish Parliament under the covenanters". Journal of Scotch-Irish Studies. 3 (4): 16–76. ISSN 1535-9840. Retrieved 3 October 2020.

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