588 



BRITAIN. 



Britain. 



CHARLES I. 



1645. 

 Military 

 affairs in 

 Scotland. 



Battle of 

 Kilsyth. 



Montrose 

 defeated at 

 Philip- 

 haugh. 



:S16, 



harles 

 ^escapes to 

 the Scottish 

 army in 

 disguise. 



city of Hereford, besieged by the parliamentary for- 

 ces, who wore deficient in cavalry to cover the besie- 

 ging army. Attempting to relieve Chester, also, he 

 was defeated by General Doyntz, and after again es- 

 caping into Wales, he returned to Oxford in despair. 



Montrose, who gained two brilliant victories over 

 the Covenanters at Alfoi d and Aldern, was, at this 

 time, the forlorn hope of the royal cause. Descend- 

 ing from the mountains after these victories with 6000 

 mm, he advanced across the Forth, marking his pro- 

 gress with butchery and devastation. Baillie oppo- 

 sed hirr at Kilsyth with equal numbers ; but a battle 

 took place, in which no quarter seems to have been 

 given to the Covenanters, and they lost above 4000 

 out of 6000 men. ^resuming in his success, Montrose 

 advanced to the borders of Scotland, though with 

 numbers diminished by the retreat of the Highlanders, 

 who went to secure their plunder among the hills, 

 and was surprised and defeated by David Leslie, 

 within a mile of Selkirk, among the woods of Philip- 

 haugh. He escaped with difficulty, attended by 200 

 horse, and secured himself among the fastnesses of 

 Athol; but his reputation was ruined among the 

 Highlanders, and his chief followers, after the slaugh- 

 ter of his army, were consigned to the scaffold. 



To conclude the misfortunes of this campaign, the 

 unpopular aid of the Irish Catholics, on which Charles 

 had so much relied, was not only disappointed, bot 

 prematurely exposed to public hatred. The titular 

 Catholic bishop of Tuam, having been killed by the 

 Scotch at Sligo, a paper was discovered upon his per- 

 son, containing articles secretly concluded between 

 the king and the Catholics ; so likely to be offensive 

 to English Protestants, that it was thought unfit that 

 Ormond, the king's lieutenant in Ireland, should ap- 

 pear in the transaction. By these articles, the pos- 

 session of the church, and its revenues in Ireland, 

 were to be given to the Catholics, who, in return, 

 were to supply the king with 10,000 rn^n. Glamor- 



fan, an Irish peer, had been commissioned by the 

 ing to make these terms with the Catholic leaders ; 

 but they were not to be acknowledged publicly for 

 the present. Glamorgan was arrested by the king's 

 orders, when the articles were first found ; and the 

 king's knowledge of the treaty, which was declared 

 to be a forgery, is still denied by the writers in 

 Charies's favour. But the silence of Clarendon on 

 the subject, and his expressions in his private corre- 

 spondence, as well asthe whole aspect of the business, 

 make it incredible that Charles did not conclude the 

 treaty, whatever might be his intentions with regard 

 to fulfilling it. 



Fairfax was approaching with a powerful force to 

 Oxford, when Charles, who had no choice but to es- 

 cape or be surrounded, adopted the resolution of fly- 

 ing to the Scottish army. To every proposal which 

 he had sent the parliament of treating for peace, they 

 had answered, that they were preparing bills, of which 

 his acceptance would afford the surest pledge of his 

 desire to surrender. This was indeed bidding him 

 surrender at discretion ; but after the transactions 

 which have been recorded, what terms approaching 

 to equality could Charles expect ? With two attend- 

 ants, Dr Hudson and Mr Ashburnham, and <! 

 srd as the servant of the latter, Charles reached the 



Scottish camp at Newark, having passed through se- 

 veral cross roads, and having once approached so near 

 to London as Harrow on the Hill, not without some 

 thoughts of entering his capital, and trusting to the 

 generosity of the parliament. This resolution, though 

 adopted in desperate circumstances, was jtill connect 

 ed with hopes of dividing his enemies, and of profit- 

 ing by dissensions, of which few princes, in such a 

 situation, would perhaps have failed to ;:va\l tbvm 

 selves. The Presbyterian church goveri.inent, s ',c- 

 tioned by the assembly or divines at Wes minster, , ,,d 

 by the general assembly of Scotland, had been adopt- 

 ed in England ; but the parliament refused to ren !er 

 the church supreme and independent of tin- itate. 

 The Independents combined with trie Erastians in 

 parliament, to procure a charitable indulgence c f con- 

 science, which the English, as well as Scotch Pres- 

 byterians resisted, as incompatible with the covenant. 

 Besides this, there were causes of deep offend' to <--x- 

 asperate the Scotch : their pay and supplies \veiv i nig 

 neglected ; their cautionary garrisons in the north 

 were demanded back ; and their free quarters were re- 

 fused. Since the battle of Naseby, the Presbyterian, 

 and with that the Scottish influence, had declined in 

 England. Charles had already maintained secret ne- 

 gotiations with the two factions. . In a con!; 

 letter to Lord Digby, he expressed his expectation 

 of " drawing either the Presbyterians or the inde- 

 pendents to side with him for extirpating each other, 

 so that (says he) I shall really be king again." 



In an intercepted letter, written by the kin:; to 

 Ormond, Charles was found to declare, that he threw 

 himself on the Scottish army, on the assurance of tiieir 

 assistance to restore his prerogative, and to join with 

 Montrose, and compel the English parliament to 

 peace. There is extant, on the other hand, a decla- 

 ration of the Scottish commissioners, disclaiming, in 

 the strongest terms, any public or private agreement 

 whatsoever with the king. This was open, if a false- 

 hood, to immediate detection. An agreement, it is 

 true, had been concerted by the means ut Montreville, 

 the French ambassador, in which the English Pres- 

 byterians were consulted, by which the Scotch were 

 to escort their monarch to their camp ; but the trea- 

 ty was broken, by the Scotch refusing to co-operate 

 with Montrose, and by the want of the king's expli- 

 cit promise to confirm the Presbyterian church. It 

 may be believed, therefore, that the Scotch were sin- 

 cere in their declaration to the English parliament ; 

 that Charles came among them, in consequence of 

 no stipulation on their side to take part with him 

 against their ancient allies ; and whatever discontents 

 might have arisen with England,- such a stipulation 

 to support Charles, without his unequivocal promise 

 to grant them the objects for which they had taken 

 arms, would have been at best romantic impolicy. 

 The Scotch continued, therefore, stedtast to their ori- 

 ginal engagements ; and though, they withdrew to 

 Newcastle, to prevent their return home being inter- 

 cepted by the English, they obtained Charles's order 

 for the surrender of Newark, they guarded his per- 

 son with vigilance and cold respect, and professed 

 their resolution to avail themselves of the po*- 

 of it, to obtain their desired uniformity of religion) 

 and a durable peace. 



Brilaii 



K5'i6. 



He trie! 

 product 



enemies, 



