Battle of Mauchline Muir
Who Fought
History & Significance
The Battle of Mauchline Muir was an engagement fought on 12 June 1648 between two rival factions of the Covenanters of Scotland. On one side were those who favoured The Engagement, known as Engagers, and on the other those who were opposed to the Engagement, and known as the Kirk party.
By 1646, the Presbyterian Covenanter movement had defeated the Scottish Royalists, who favoured unconditional loyalty to King Charles I. In 1646 at the end of the First English Civil War, Charles I had surrendered to the Scottish army which was in England fighting as an ally of the English Parliament. As part of the negotiated agreement for their payment and withdrawal back to Scotland, the Scots handed Charles over to the English Parliament and returned to Scotland in 1647.
In the negotiations over what constitutional settlement should be implemented the Scottish Covenanters were one of four parties to the negotiations. The other three parties were Charles, the English Parliament dominated Presbyterians, and the Independents in the New Model Army. Charles stalled for time hoping that either his supporters in alliance with one or more of the other parties would succeed in restoring him to his throne with little or no change to his constitutional position.
In December 1647 a faction in the Covenanters reached an agreement with King Charles known as The Engagement in which he promised that if the Covenanters would support him militarily he would support the establishment of Presbyterianism in England for a period of three years. The faction known as the Kirk Party, strongly influenced by the General Assembly were opposed, arguing against an agreement which didn't include the permanent adoption of Presbyterianism and attacked the Parliament of Scotland for proceeding in matters of religion without consulting them.
In April 1648 the Engagers took control of the Scottish Parliament, and they authorised the sending of an army, under the command of James, Duke of Hamilton, south to implement the agreement. England had been engulfed in the Second English Civil War and Hamilton was joined by a force of royalists under Marmaduke Langdale.
In June 1648, a members of the Kirk party gathered in Mauchline to join in a celebration of the Eucharist that lasted several days. Following the celebration 2,000 armed Kirk party supporters gathered on the Mauchline Moor, choosing leaders in evident preparation of making their dissatisfaction with the Engagement known. Into the midst of this rode five troops loyal to the Scottish Parliament and the Engagement. They were commanded by John Middleton, 1st Earl of Middleton, and James Livingstone, Earl of Callender.
The ground they fought on
The site of Battle of Mauchline Muir lies on Stewartry Group, bedrock that formed in the Early Permian. The rock here is sandstone, breccia and conglomerate.
Frequently Asked Questions
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- Battle of Mauchline Muir · Wikidata
- Battle_of_Mauchline_Muir · Wikipedia