Battle of Kilsyth

Who Fought

History & Significance

The Battle of Kilsyth, fought on 15 August 1645 near Kilsyth, was an engagement of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. The largest battle of the conflict in Scotland, it resulted in victory for the Royalist general Montrose over the forces of the Covenanter-dominated Scottish Parliament, and marked the end of General William Baillie's pursuit of the Royalists.

Between mid-1644 and 1645, Montrose had fought a successful disruptive campaign around Scotland, intended to tie down Scottish government troops and prevent their aiding the Parliamentarian side in the First English Civil War. Leading a force built around an Irish Confederate brigade under Alasdair Mac Colla, Montrose had beaten the Covenanters at Tippermuir, Aberdeen, Inverlochy, Auldearn and Alford. Following the bloody Royalist victory at Alford on 2 July 1645, there remained only a single intact government force in Scotland, under the command of the experienced professional soldier William Baillie.

Baillie and his army were at Perth, attending the meeting of the Scottish Estates. He had been given command of a mixture of new, untrained levies from Fife, a number of regular regiments withdrawn from England, and the remnants of several regiments already defeated by Montrose at Auldearn and Alford. His cavalry, led by Lord Balcarres, was mainly regular dragoons. In addition to these troops, the Earl of Lanark had raised a new levy of 1,000 infantry and 500 cavalry from the estate of his brother, the Duke of Hamilton, in Clydesdale, and was en route north to join the main body.

When news of this troop movement reached Montrose, he decided to confront these forces individually, before they could join up. Marching from Dunkeld he skirted Baillie's force at Perth and travelled via Kinross, Glenfarg and Alloa, crossing the River Forth near Stirling, and circumnavigating Stirling Castle. By nightfall on 14 August, the army was camped in a meadow near Colzium, by Kilsyth, in the area around Colzium Castle. This area is still known as Cavalry Park in memory of the event.

Baillie learned of Montrose's advance almost immediately, but it took a little time for its purpose to become apparent. Realising that his opponent had gained an advantage and that Lanark's forces were in danger, he moved his men southward, reaching Stirling by the line of the modern A9 road. On the same night as Montrose reached Colzium, Baillie was only three miles off at Hollinbush. He arrived late and his men had little rest.

Overnight, his scouts located the Royalist encampment, and at dawn the next morning his troops were on the move and, marching directly across country, reaching the village of Banton. This gave the Covenanters the higher ground around the eastern rim of the hollow occupied by the Royalist infantry.

The ground they fought on

The site of Battle of Kilsyth lies on Unnamed Igneous Intrusion, Carboniferous To Permian, bedrock that formed in the Permian. The rock here is dolerite and tholeiitic basalt.

Frequently Asked Questions

Scheduled Monuments near Battle of Kilsyth

Craigstone Wood,Castle Hill,motte E of

Scheduled monument · Medieval · ~0.5 mi

Craigstone Wood Castle Hill is a medieval motte in Stirlingshire, Scotland, protected as a scheduled monument by Historic Environment Scotland. The earthwork occupies a naturally prominent position, enhanced by the underlying geology of the site. Bedrock composed of Carboniferous to Permian-age i…

Forth and Clyde Canal: Auchinstarry Farm - Castlecary

Scheduled monument · ~0.7 mi

Forth and Clyde Canal: Auchinstarry Farm - Castlecary is a section of the Forth and Clyde Canal, a major eighteenth-century artificial waterway constructed to connect the east and west coasts of Scotland. The canal was engineered to facilitate commercial transport of goods, particularly coal and…

Antonine Wall, Wester Dullatur to East Dullatur

Scheduled monument · ~1 mi

Antonine Wall, Wester Dullatur to East Dullatur, is a section of the second-century Roman frontier that stretched across central Scotland from the Firth of Clyde to the Firth of Forth. Constructed around AD 142 under the Emperor Antoninus Pius, this turf and stone rampart represents Rome's northe…

Antonine Wall and fort, railway line to 300m E of Westerwood steading

Scheduled monument · ~1.2 mi

Antonine Wall and fort at Westerwood is a Roman frontier installation built on bedrock of the Clackmannan Group in Dunbartonshire, Scotland. The wall itself represents the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire, constructed in the second century AD across the Forth–Clyde isthmus. The fort sits…

Antonine Wall, camp, fortlet, fort and settlement, Croy Hill

Scheduled monument · Iron Age · ~1.4 mi

Croy Hill is a Roman fortlet situated on the Antonine Wall in Dunbartonshire, Scotland, forming part of the linear frontier erected by the Romans in the mid-second century AD. The fortlet occupies a commanding position on the wall's line and served a defensive and administrative function within t…

Carrickstone,Roman altar,400m W of

Scheduled monument · Roman · ~1.8 mi

Carrickstone is a Roman altar located 400 metres west of Dunbartonshire in Scotland. The monument stands upon bedrock of the Clackmannan Group, sedimentary rocks formed during the Westphalian period, which underlie much of the local landscape. Roman altars of this type were typically erected as v…

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Battles near Battle of Kilsyth

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• Battle of Kilsyth · Wikidata
• Battle_of_Kilsyth · Wikipedia
• UKFOC 279 · Battlefields Trust (UK Fields of Conflict)
• Battle of Kilsyth · Historic Environment Scotland
• Battle of Kilsyth · Battlefields Trust