BattlefieldsWhiggamore Raid on Edinburgh 1648
English Civil War

Whiggamore Raid on Edinburgh 1648

1648
Midlothian, Scotland
Also known as: Western march on Edinburgh 1648
Era
English Civil War
Battle Type
Skirmish
Location
Midlothian, Scotland
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Engagement government
Forces
Engager government forces, small
VS
Victor
Whiggamores / Kirk Party
Forces
Western Covenanting force c.4,000
Outcome
Western Covenanters marched on Edinburgh and expelled the Engager government; Argyll and the Kirk party took power; Cromwell followed with the New Model Army
The Battle

History & Significance

After the defeat of the Scottish Engagement army at Preston, the radical Covenanting west rose and marched on Edinburgh. The Whiggamore Raid brought down the Engager government and installed the Kirk party in power — the most extreme Presbyterian faction. Cromwell arrived soon after and approved the new government. The raid showed that political power in Scotland could still be seized by mass military mobilisation of the godly western counties.

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