82 John Welsh, the Irongray Covenanter. 



John Graham of Claverhouse. 



On February 27th, 1679, Claverhouse was appointed a 

 Sheriff-Depute of Dumfries, Annandale, Wigtown, and Kirk- 

 cudbrig-ht. He had already been in Dumfries and Annandale, 

 but his commission was bounded by the Nith. Welsh had 

 three weeks before, February 6th, 1679, been proclaimed a 

 traitor, and the extraordinary reward of 9000 merks was set 

 on his head. In spite of this, Claverhouse writes to Linlith- 

 gow from Dumfries : — " Mr Welsh and others preach securly 

 within twenty or thretty myles of us, but we can doe nothing 

 for want of spays (spies)." (Spelling was not Claverhouse's 

 strong point.) A little later he again writes : — " I find Mr 

 Welsh accustoming both ends of the country to face the King's 

 forces, and certainly intends to break into open rebellion " 

 (Ap. 26, 1679). The local militia could not be relied upon. 

 Wilder spirits than Welsh, too, were at work. Cameron and 

 Hamilton were out, and they had no scruples about appealing 

 to the sword. 



Events were moving rapidly. On i\lay ist, 1679, at a 

 meeting of the Council in Edinburgh, at which Archbishop 

 Sharp presided, a warrant was issued to the Earl of Linlith- 

 gow to follow Welsh, Cameron, Kid, and Douglas, and their 

 accomplices, to seize and apprehend such as may be found at 

 their conventicles, and in case of resistance to pursue them to 

 the death. This was on Thursday. On Saturday (May 3rd) 

 Archbishop Sharp was murdered at Magus Moor as he 

 returned from Edinburgh to St. Andrews. When the news 

 reached Claverhouse at Dumfries he was hesitating whether 

 to strike at Teviotdale or Carrick, where Welsh now was. 

 But it was in neither of these districts that open rebellion 

 broke out, but at Rutherglen. Here on the anniversary of 

 the Restoration, May 29th, 1679, Robert Hamilton with 80 

 horse put out the bonfires which were lit in honour of the 

 occasion, burned the Acts of 1661 establishing prelacy, and 

 aflfixed his testimony to the Market Cross. Claverhouse fol- 

 lowed in hot pursuit, and met the rebels at Drumclog, where 

 he was defeated and forced to flee. 



