By 1678 the western Covenanting conventicles had become fully armed gatherings. The congregation at Irongray — associated with Samuel Rutherford and later to give its name to Helen Walker, the original of Scott's Jeanie Deans — assembled under armed guard. When government cavalry attempted to disperse the meeting, the Covenanting guards fired and the soldiers withdrew. Such incidents across Dumfriesshire and Ayrshire directly led to the Highland Host of 1678 and the suppression campaign that provoked Drumclog.
Armed Covenanting guard c.50-100; government cavalry patrol
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