Battle of Tippermuir 1644
Who Fought
Royalists: 2,000-3,000 foot and 150 cavalry; Covenanters: disputed estimates of 2,000-7,000 foot and 400-800 cavalry (modern historians suggest lower figures of around 2,000 foot and 400 horse may be more accurate)
History & Significance
The Battle of Tippermuir (also known as the Battle of Tibbermuir) (1 September 1644) was the first battle James Graham, 1st Marquis of Montrose, fought for King Charles I in the Scottish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. During the battle, Montrose's Royalist forces routed an army of the Covenanter-dominated Scottish government under John Wemyss, Lord Elcho. The government side took heavy losses. The battle was the last to involve the English longbow.
The battlefield is presently inventoried and protected by Historic Environment Scotland under the Scottish Historical Environment Policy of 2009.
Under the terms of the 1643 Solemn League and Covenant, the Scottish Parliament, dominated by a hardline Presbyterian faction known as the Covenanters, had agreed to intervene on the Parliamentarian side in the First English Civil War. At the invitation of the English Parliament, a large Scottish army under Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven entered England in January 1644. The Royalist party, fearing that the Scots intervention would prove decisive, sought to find ways of tying down troops in Scotland to prevent them assisting the English Parliamentarians.
King Charles I had already designated Montrose, a disaffected former signatory of the Covenant, as Captain-General in Scotland. An initial attempt by George Gordon, 2nd Marquess of Huntly and Montrose to begin a Royalist uprising misfired badly, but the Royalist plans were advanced when Confederate Ireland, at the instigation of the Earl of Antrim, aided the Royalists by sending 2000 professional soldiers to Scotland led by Antrim's kinsman Alasdair Mac Colla. The Irish landed at Ardnamurchan on the west coast in early July 1644, and initially made to link up with Huntly, but the latter had by then effectively gone into hiding. Montrose was, however, able to meet Mac Colla at Blair Atholl late in August. Mac Colla had already been joined by a contingent from Clan MacDonald of Keppoch and had effectively compelled 400–500 men from Badenoch to join his force by pressuring local lairds. Their army was further increased by the addition of a small regiment of Athollmen raised for Montrose by Patrick Graham of Inchbrackie.
From Blair Atholl, Montrose made a rapid march south-eastwards towards the strategically sited town of Perth. With the majority of its best troops with Leslie in England, the Scottish government hastily assembled an army to defend the town under the overall command of John Wemyss, Lord Elcho and James Murray, Earl of Tullibardine. While Tullibardine and Elcho had two small regiments of relatively inexperienced regular troops, most of their men were untrained levies: the order to assemble at Perth only went out four days before the battle. A group of Perthshire levies from Clan Stewart, Clan Robertson and Clan Graham, led by Lord Kilpont, James Stewart of Ardvorlich and Montrose's brother-in-law the Master of Madertie, were amongst those called out by the government but promptly deserted to the Royalists.
The ground they fought on
The site of Battle of Tippermuir 1644 lies on Arbuthnott-Garvock Group, bedrock that formed in the Pragian. The rock here is sandstone with subordinate conglomerate, siltstone and mudstone.
- Royalists: light, reported as one to twelve killed on the field; Covenanters: 400-2,000, with accounts varying significantly and many additional casualties occurring during the rout toward Perth
This battlefield is listed on the Register of Historic Battlefields — a national designation identifying Britain's most significant battle sites for protection and further research. Reference: HES BTL39.
Frequently Asked Questions
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- Battle of Tippermuir · Wikidata
- Battle_of_Tippermuir · Wikipedia
- Battle of Tippermuir · Historic Environment Scotland