“Revenge, Revenge tomorrow
for mourning today for revenge!”[1]
Battles
in the Scottish Highlands
The history of the Scottish Gael can be told
as an arc of gradual cultural estrangement to the South followed by
increasingly hostile and bitter conflicts aimed at resisting the domination of
the Scottish Crown. In a strange quirk an ever decreasing number of clans pinned
their fortunes to the then British House of Stuart which formed the cultural
background for the last century or so before Culloden. Why the Clans of the
West would follow the house of Stuart to destruction is a puzzle given the
outright, genocidal hatred the Stuart crown had shown to the Gael. It must I suppose
be remembered that the clans looked to their own fortunes rather than the
national interest and that other enmities, religious or feud based (the Campbells
Rarely did the Scottish Gael fight conventional
forces before the mid 17th Century save in Ireland Ireland Scotland
In Ireland the Gael was reckoned a “flying
enemy[2]” “do
what we can we shall never fight with them unless they have a will to fight us[3]” as
Fynes Morryson said “(they) fight upon bogs and passes of skirts of woods where
the foot being very nimble come off and on at pleasure….exceeding swift and
terrible executioners”[4]. Even
Lord Mountjoy reckoned that the Irish were the better at hand to hand combat.
To press their own advantage and attempt to negate the English advantage in missile
weapons, the Irish would use the land, rivers, woods, fords and man-made
obstacles (“where to the natural strength of the place is added the art of
interlacing the low bowes, and casting the bodies of trees acrosse the way[5]” to
create situations to their advantage but upon resolution of the enemy would not
press the matter “their common souldiers are too hard for our new men, yet are
they not able to stand before such gallant men as will charge them[6]”
I will be looking at how history describes
bows in use during the battles fought by highlanders through the early modern
to medieval period. I will only be looking at battles where bows were used and
will be using these notes to develop my powers of narrative and description. The list is not exhaustive by any stretch
though I have selected battles that I believe are representative. All (or at
least most) clan conflicts before the mid 17th Century featured bows
though not all the histories make mention of archers or how they were employed.
Let’s start at the end………
The
Stand-off at Arkaig 1665
This was not really a battle but represents
the last time archers were used in strength in highland warfare. The long simmering feud between the Clans of
Cameron and Macintosh came to a head in June 1665. The Scottish Privy Council
ordered the clans to settle the disputed lands around Arkaig. There was much
bad blood between these clans and the negotiated settlement was to no one’s
taste. Soon enough Cameron scouts
reported that 1500 men of the Clan Chattan confederation, headed by Macintosh
were on the move through Lochaber.
Ewan Cameron chief of the clan Cameron sent
round the fiery cross and was aided by his allies among the MacDonalds and
MacGregors. Outnumbered they gave ground to the Macintosh confederation and
withdrew to hold the only ford over the river Arkaig. For two days the armies
sullenly watched each other over the waters. Confident of victory and
frustrated that the fords were held; Macintosh moved his forces along to the
loch to look for another crossing place.
Ewan
Cameron was a wily and highly experienced warrior. Seeing his enemies movement
he ordered a trench dug at the ford, leaving 50 picked men at the trench he
moved his main force to oppose Macintosh. He also secretly dispatched Cameron
of Erracht with a strong body of men across the river in boats. Lochiel’s plan
was to move through forced marches and offset his opponent’s numerical
superiority with surprise attacks from two directions. The main body would be
moving 18 miles and presumably this would be done at night to prevent Macintosh
re-acting to the move.
Lochiel had much experience moving bodies of
men in this fashion and his troops were more than adequate to the task, baring
poor luck it is safe to assume that Cameron would have made a good fight of it,
however warriors from the Campbells of Argyll managed to use the threat of
intervention to bring the warring parties to a peaceful settlement.
So the last use of archers in the highlands
ends in nary a shot being loosed, no mention is made of how the forces were
disposed but 50 “doughty” men with bows in an entrenched position over a ford
would be a very difficult proposition.
Inverlochy
1431
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| The battle site today |
The conflict between Alexander Lord of the
Isles and James I reached a head when James I both humiliated and imprisoned
Alexander during their long running dispute over the sovereignty of the Isles.
Humiliating a proud and powerful Gaelic
chieftain proved to be a major mistake. Alexander’s followers converged from
all over the Islands of Scotland landing their birlinns (a ship derived from
the Norse Longship) in the great glen. Full of furious indignation they swiftly
moved up to engage the Royal army. The Royal army of James I was commanded by
the inept Earl of Mar who on being told of the advancing host laughed it off
and returned to playing cards. With such inspiring leadership it is no wonder
that a warrior named Alasdair Carrach managed to infiltrate a force of 220
archers onto a hill flanking the Royal position.
Mar’s
decision caused a rift between the royal leaders the Lord of Huntly responded
to Mar’s recklessly casual attitude “I know full well the doings of the
big-bellied carles of the Isles” by drawing his men off to spectate rather than
fight.
Unprepared with a divided and careless leadership
the Royal army was thrown into chaos as Carrach advanced down the hill, his men
shooting volleys as they came. Stung by the impact of volleys of arrows and
taking heavy casualties the royal army fled when the bulk of Alexander’s men
crashed into their front.
The
resulting slaughter cost the royal army 900 dead. Mar was grievously wounded
with an arrow in the thigh; The Earl of Caithness was also killed along with
over 900 of his army. The MacDonalds it is said lost no more than thirty men.
Blar
na Leine 1544
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| Graham Turner's study of Blar na Leine |
While on one level this battle was the result of clan rivalries the main instigator, as was the case through much of 16th century, was the Scottish Crown. John of Moidart along with many clan chiefs was abducted under trust. A puppet leader, Ranald Gallda, was installed by the Frasers of Lovat. Ranald better known as Raonuill nan cearc or Ranald of the hens due to his parsimony was a deeply unpopular figure for the three years of his leadership. Ranald was deposed and slunk back to Lovat as soon as John returned in 1543.
Fraser of Lovat prepared to assert his right
but was cut of by the fierce John of Moidart. True to the ways of his fathers
John led a great harrying east into the lands of the Frasers and the Grants.
His fierce nature and the possibility of booty inspired not only other septs of
the MacDonalds but also the Clan Cameron.
Taken as provocation by the government the
coalition of the Frasers and feudal levies of the Grants advanced on John’s
forces. A cunning warrior John of
Moidart retreated into rough and broken country around his home territories.
Crown forces increasingly worried about being isolated in hostile mountainous
territory called off their pursuit. As
they withdrew John shadowed them keeping his forces well hidden patiently waiting
for the right moment to strike. The Crown forces split into two factions,
Huntly and Clan Fraser, as they headed for home. This was the moment John had been waiting
for, his forces now raced to intercept the smaller force of Frasers. Alerted to
John’s pursuit and seeing he had no choice but to fight Fraser arranged his men
to face Moidart. Perhaps due to caution or lack of confidence Fraser sent a
small group of clansmen to secure a pass and thus a means of escape. The battle
began with a ferocious exchange of arrows mingled with insults. The exchange of
missiles lasted for quite along time, until the archers had exhausted their
stocks. Then as the “opening ceremony” closed the warriors moved up to engage
with each other “THE ancient way of fighting was by
set battles; and for arms some had broad two-handed swords and head pieces, and
others bows and arrows. When all their arrows were spent they attacked one
another with sword in hand.”[7].
As both sides closed, archers continued shooting using spent arrows at
extremely close range before resorting to swords and axes. Fought in the heat
of July this “battle of the shirts” resulted in a pitiless slaughter leaving
only a handful of men alive on either side.
However……..it is the Fraser tradition that the
Macdonalds also took heavy casualties. Battles fought with hand weapons traditionally
resulted in a much higher casualty rate for the losers than the winners, most
casualties being inflicted on defenseless, fleeing troops. Effectively backed
into a corner the Frasers may well have fought to the last man but heroic last
stands were not a part of Gaelic tradition and in fact flight in the face of
defeat was common place. Moreover in the
guerilla style combat that typifies the Gaelic tradition frequently resulted in
very one-sided battles with battle not being risked unless a decisive advantage
was perceived. It would seem strange for John of Moidart to so effectively
arrange things to his advantage only to then discard that advantage. Considered
a major victory by the Macdonalds I suspect that they did not in fact take
particularly high casualties and that this is a fabrication by the Frasers to
protect a wounded pride. Certainly the men commanded by John of Moidart were
able to use the victory to successfully mount raids into the lands of the
Frasers.
Tullich
1652
One of the later battles to feature archery
(but by no means the last) was fought between The Earl of Glencairn and The
occupying army of Cromwell’s England
Ewan Cameron was astute at using the rough
country of the highlands and the particular abilities of his clansmen,
especially archers, to effect victories against larger, or more well equipped
foes. In the dying days of the 16th Century a youthful Lochiel found
himself at odds with the Laird of Ardkinglass. Ardkinglass commanded 800 men
and had retired them into a secure position for a night’s rest. Undaunted by
the number Lochiel went to harass the foe with a handful of men. Using both the
cover of land and the night he maneuvered his forces around the enemy army.
Spaced so as to accentuate their number, they “fired” from concealment then
lying flat moved to a new position to shoot again. The forces of Ardkinglass
were naturally discomfited by this and were thrown into some confusion. Expecting
attack from any quarter and greatly unnerved they left for their own lands at
daybreak taking their few casualties with them. While Lochiels’ memoirs don’t
mention whether the “fire“ was from muskets or bows, both were in use in the
highlands at this time, with bows being more common. In addition the handful of
men with Lochilel are described as servants and so are unlikely to have been
armed with muskets.
While the noise and fire of muskets would have
been horribly amplified by fear and the night, the dark whizzing of arrows
would effectively conceal the paltry number Lochiel had with him and present a
far more insidious and unnerving threat.
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| Add caption |
These
two battles though separated by 100 years show cunning use of missile troops by
Gaelic armies. In both cases missiles
were use to full advantage to destroy an experienced enemy with major
advantages in size or equipment.
Alexander Lord of the isles pushed a large
force of Islemens, Macdonalds and allies such as the Camerons hard into
Mackenzie country. They raided so comprehensively that they needed to send
parties back to their home territories as they becoming weighed down with
spoil. This force committed severe atrocities in one instance burning a
congregation alive in a church. (This is known from other instances in highland
history, it is to be wondered with such ideal country for hiding and with good
local knowledge anyone would chose to hide up in a church and count on their
enemies mercy, or respect for sanctuary).
Stung by this outrage Coinneach of Kintail
mustered the Mackenzie warriors and sped across country to surprise the host of
the Lord of the Isles. Coinneach, on seeing the size of the host yet thirsting
for revenge chose to exercise guile. He split off a force of archers and
maneuvered them into the open, wild moorland.
They remained concealed in ambush overlooking a marsh, as Coinneach led
his warriors forward hoping to lure Alexander forward into bow range.
Alexander was only too happy to oblige despite
his brother, Gilespic’s wise advice that so small a force as faced them was
suspicious. Calling his brother a coward, Alexander ordered a charge. His
vanguard crashed into Coinneach’s small force and engaged in a stiff fight
before driving the Mackenzies back. Their blood up the Islesmen pursued them
hard, but Coinneach had performed a very difficult maneuver, the feigned
retreat.
Alexander’s Islemen came under a withering
crossfire from Coinneach’s archers stung by hundreds of shafts which sliced into their flank as they became bogged down in
the marsh the “fleeing” Mackenzies had led them into. A seeming easy victory
was turned instantly into defeat as Coinneach spun his forces round and charged
the wavering, confused and stumbling flank of Alexander’s army.
Gillespic sought payment for his wounded pride
by seeking out Mackenzie. He got his wish but was killed in the following
single combat thus he paid the price for his brothers’ hot-headedness. Those
Macdonald’s not killed in the battle or in the rout were slaughtered by the
Mackenzies and the people of the country as they were caught up on the steep
banks of the river Conan.
Horror at chaos that led to this battle and the
destruction Coinneach himself wrought as he punished the MacDonald’s was
instrumental in setting in motion the movement to break the Lordship of the
Isles.
The battle of Curlew pass was fought in the
west of Ireland during the
long drawn out conflict between the English state and the Gaelic chiefdoms of Ireland England Essex
maintained he was poorly supported and indeed there is good evidence that he
was being undermined by the powerful Cecil family in his absence from the English Court Ulster and set the political and cultural map of
Ireland
The English force at Curlew was commanded by
the experienced Connyers Clifford who was ordered by Essex ,
again outmaneuvered by O’Neill, to re-take Collooney castle. Clifford marched
close to 2000 men over the hills while the smaller Irish force under Red Hugh
O’Donnell set an ambush on their line of advance as had been done to great
success at the Yellow ford the year before.
One of the differences between Gaelic forces in Scotland and Ireland Scotland
The Irish would dig entrenchments used felled
logs or “plash” together living trees in order to funnel English armies into
prepared killing grounds. Without an advantage or if the English didn’t take
the bait the Irish would not offer battle. Unsurprisingly given that English
armies were mostly filled with conscripts with often little to no training in
personal combat the English usually came off second best as soon as close
combat was joined.
The Curlew is interesting as it is a battle
where the Irish made sophisticated but a-typical use of the bow. Irish kern and
even Galloglas are depicted with bows (which match the type used by
Highlanders) yet the bow does not appear to have been used extensively in Irish
combat. Given the large numbers of “new scots” mercenaries many of whom were
archers in Ulster
Connyers Clifford and his army made their way
through the hills on the way to Sligo very
much aware that they were in enemy country. This was an army on its way to war
against an elusive enemy that specialized in lightning fast raids and ambush tension
must have been very high. This poorly supplied force marched through hot August
weather the 45 miles (over two hard days) to Boyle. At Boyle Clifford offered
his men a good beef supper if they postponed their rest until they had passed
through the Curlew hills. He had suspected the passes in these hills to be
defended but had received information that they were clear. By the time his men
reached the first barricade and found out that their commander had been tricked
they must have been exhausted, famished and dispirited. It is very hard not to
feel a great deal of sympathy for the soldiers of Elizabeth
Under gunfire, javelin and heavy arrow shot,
the English had to dismantle barricades, rock screens and plashed trees as they
struggled up the hill. Stumbling and exhausted unnerved by the screams of the
men around them and possibly with memories of the disaster at the Yellow ford
in their minds, soldiers began to flee.
The
English had to force Irish missile troops out of the thin woods beyond the
barricades before the vanguard was able to engage the Irish main force in the
bog at the top of the pass. Fatigued and fraught after their battle up the hill
and fighting on ground the Irish had chosen, the battle went against the
vanguard. After their commander was killed and on Irish reinforcements arriving
were finally thrown back into their own troops causing total mayhem. Despite
heroic (and occasionally murderous) attempts to rally the troops the defeat was
total. Connyers Clifford was killed attempting a counter attack and only the
cavalry saved the English from a widespread rout. After finally rallying their
broken formations they retired to Athalone leaving hundreds of their dead.
This defeat led in Part to Essex’s notorious
truce with O’Neill, his illegal return to England
Glen
Fruin 1603
This was a battle immortalized and no doubt
“improved” By Sir Walter Scott. The origins of the battle lie in the dreech
dispiriting mist of accusation and counter accusation. The Colquhouns occupied
the rich fertile valleys which mark the transition to the lowlands and indeed
maybe regarded as a lowland family, while the MacGregors had been marginalized
by the powerful Campbell
Generously we can say that both clans were providing
for themselves and their hungry children as best they could in difficult
circumstances, at worse we could say that both sides were locked in a bitter,
hate-fueled tit for tat conflict using economic hardship as a pretext for
indulging in near senseless violence which exacerbated difficulties for both
communities.
The battle may be regarded as a clan battle,
or as a battle between two cultures the Gael and the Gall. The 17th
century marked the escalation of the deepening enmity between the cultures that
resulted in the massacre of Glencoe in 1692[9]. The
Colquhouns raised a strong body of cavalry for this conflict and while the
highlander were described in the usual terms; “"halberschois,
powaixes, twa-handit swordies, bowis and
arrowis, andwith hagbutia and pistoletis."[10]
The Colquhouns may likely have been armed in a more conventional 17th
century manner, swords muskets pikes and so forth, bows were certainly seen as
“odd” only a few decades later by lowlanders[11].
The
story[12] goes
that two young MacGregors denied hospitality killed and ate a sheep in the land
of the Colquhouns. They were caught and hung for this (sheep stealing unlike
cattle was considered a capital offence, highlanders mostly ate sheep).
Naturally aggrieved at such summary justice the MacGregors responded and in the
winter of 1603 both sides met to parley and agree compensation. Alistair Ruadh
the chief of the Glenstrae MacGregors took 200 men but in accordance with
agreement left 100 about three miles away from the meeting point by a stream
called Allt a Chlèith.
In this Alastair was wise, as the leader of
the Colquhouns; Sir Humphrey had set 300 of his men in ambush. The parley went
well but forewarned or just paranoid Alastair made his way back to his home
territory via a different route, foiling the ambush.
Sir Humphrey ordered his men to give chase and
the MacGregors ran the three miles back to Allt a chlèith. The river itself
could be forded only in a few places as it was wild and pitted with deep holes.
The MacGregors managed to hold the Colquhouns off for a while until the men
they had left in reserve, who were mostly archers arrived and started shooting
down on the Colquhouns who were hemmed in by the banks of the stream in deep
and freezing water.
A number of Colquhouns died including several
minor nobles, the rest took to their heels hotly pursued by the clan MacGregor.
They rallied by a small hill but again broke after more of their number were
killed. The jubilant MacGregors pursued them into the ordered conventional lines
of soldiers that Sir Humphrey was dressing to meet them. The ensuing chaos as
the differing bands collided resulted in a total defeat for clan Colquhoun
while the MacGregors lost only a few men though the brother of Alastair Ruadh
was among them. A MacGregor was also killed by an arrow by Eas Fhionnglais so at least some Colquhouns
had bows.
This victory
did not actually do the clan any favours defeated in the field the Colquhouns
took to the state for support. Using the powerful emotional prop of the “bluidy
sarks” of the slain and a (possibly true) tale of murdered civilians the Crown
acted with remarkable ruthlessness. James VI despite (or because of)his famous
squeamishness was certainly no stranger to genocidal plans and the MacGregors
were dealt with in a speedy and brutal manner “that unhappie and detestable
race be extirpat and ruttit out” men were hunted down, bloodhounds being used
on occasions. The clan name was forbidden and all became outlaws, their heads
even fetching a reward.
Alastair was
finally apprehended and executed, even suffering the humiliation of being quartered.
Many other MacGregors who fought were also captured and killed. The idiom
“Winning the battle but loosing the war” has rarely been more apposite.
The battle
though rather hasty does reveal certain traits. The speed and maneuverability
of Gaelic armies is well demonstrated as is the desire to fight from ambush.
The MacGregors made skillful use of the land and quickly took the initiative
and kept it, the consistently fought from the best position and had the
initiative and maneuverability to fully utilize the environment, archers were
skillfully used and were positioned in a concealed ambush position for most
effect. Bows were one of the weapons proscribed by James VI[13]
and it is interesting that the archers were held back from the negotiations
being concealed in case things got heated. It is possible that forces of
archers were considered too aggressive, more overtly hostile than a protective
or personal weapon.
These battles
awful, spectacular glorious and sordid demonstrate how archers were used by
Gaelic armies in the medieval through to early modern periods. Gaelic armies specialized
in fast moving guerilla like combat. Unencumbered by large supply trains and
inured to the hard conditions of their native territories they were able to run
rings round conventional armies and very rarely fought on ground that wasn’t of
their choosing.
Traditionally an archery barrage signaled the
start of the larger pitched battles however companies of archers were
frequently detached to provide cross or flanking “fires”. Shooting from
concealed ambush was also a favoured tactic. Bows do appear to have been
considered a tool of war rather than a personal weapon unlike a sword for
example which could be worn with more or less impunity and would not excite
interest let alone suspicion. Ambushes
could be hurried or executed with considerable planning, as was the case
elsewhere the bow itself was never enough and could only really be used to deter
or weaken an enemy before hand to hand combat finished the affair. While most
warriors would be wearing armour strong enough to stop arrows “not withstanding
that they are sent forth weakly”[14]
armour was not Cap a pie as it was elsewhere in contemporary Europe and the
general mustering of the clan would have been very lightly armoured indeed.
Interestingly senior figures were killed by archers on a fairly routine basis.
Gaelic war
leaders made effective and intelligent use of the forces available to them,
they well understood the potential of the bow and utilized it in ways to
optimize its potential providing history with some tactically fascinating and
skillful use of archery forces.
“You can’t take the glamour out of war” so said Tim
Page the war photographer when asked to do just that. Through imagination one
can build a rounded picture of the personalities involved in these conflicts.
From a modern perspective they can appear lacking and indeed it is tempting to
“psycho-analyse” them based on their actions and purported intent. In our
mind’s eye we can replace the beautiful lines of the bow and the glamour of the
sword with the soulless and tawdry aspect of the assault rifle. To do so
immediately strips these men of the romance and thrusts them into the harsh
glare of the modern world, where they immediately become little more than
Afghan hill men or mafia gangsters.
I often find
that be staring too hard at men from the past I become appalled by them. In
awareness of the outcome it can all seem futile, sons and fathers bones
stretched out in the mud for nothing more than the vanity of “nobles” or
distant governments.
This is of
course my modern view, these men were not psychopaths, they just lived in
psychopathic times (which we still do we have just outsourced our neurosis)
they knew the consequences and importantly bore them themselves. For Gaelic
armies conflict meant an opportunity for enrichment, obligation to community
and standing in the world. An expression of masculinity that the modern world
simply can’t provide, and which I believe adds to the sense of purposelessness
and emptiness felt by many men today.
Historians
and especially military historians are often too easy to gloss over the acts of
past commanders, battles and wars are treated as little more than a rough game
or an exciting “man ennobling” pursuit. It is hard not to fall into this trap
especially when trying to introduce colour and drama to dry facts. I have tried
to be dramatic but not enthusiastic. I have to admit for all my modernity the
rain filled wind pulling at the plaid, the naked blade and the quite lilt of
spoken Gaelic are hugely powerful images to me; it is hard not to be carried
away with them.
For the
English soldier taken under threat of force from his community or family given
a gun or pike and sent to the rain soaked fields of Ireland it is hard to feel
anything but a deep sense of pity and incredulity that they fought as well as
they did.
[1] A quote attributed to
GlenGarry at the battle of Sherrifmuir 1715 The Jacobite Rising of 1715 by John
Baynes
[2] Spenser
[3] John Zouche 1580
[4] Fynes Morrison 1617
[5] Moryson
[6] idem
[7] Martin martin
[8] Memoirs of Ewan
Cameron
[9] Glencoe John Prebble
penguin 1973
[10] Clan Cameron History
[11] Stevenson David Highland warrior Alasdair MacColla and the Civil wars
John Donald 2003
[12] Dewar manuscripts but
also see tne clan Cameron history and this website; http://www.glendiscovery.com/battleofglenfruin.htm
[13] Donald Gregory
[14] Spenser.
