BattlefieldsCovenanting armed conventicle at Skeoch Hill 1678
English Civil War

Covenanting armed conventicle at Skeoch Hill 1678

1678
Scotland
Era
English Civil War
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
Scotland
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Forces
Not recorded in historical accounts
Forces
absent government forces
VS
Victor
Not recorded in historical accounts
Forces
Thousands of armed Covenanting worshippers
Outcome
Large armed conventicle held; government response provoked the 1679 rising
The Battle

History & Significance

A large armed conventicle was held at Skeoch Hill in Galloway in 1678, with thousands of worshippers attending under armed guard. This was one of the largest and most provocative of the field conventicles that preceded the Bothwell Bridge rising. Government forces did not attack the Skeoch Hill gathering, recognising that a force capable of dispersing it would be too large for normal policing. The scale of the conventicle alarmed the government into precipitating the crisis that led to Bothwell Bridge.

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