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Welcome back to This Day in Scottish History. I'm your host, Colin MacDonald. Today, we turn our gaze to May 9th, 1645, when a clash near the quiet village of Auldearn in the Scottish Highlands etched itself into the turbulent tapestry of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. On this day, the Marquis of Montrose—James Graham—led Royalist forces in a battle that would elevate his reputation to that of legend, thanks to sheer audacity, cunning tactics, and a battlefield performance as swift as it was brutal.
To understand the significance of Auldearn, we must first look to the divided state of 17th-century Britain. The Wars of the Three Kingdoms pitted Royalists loyal to King Charles I against various factions, chief among them the Scottish Covenanters—Presbyterians who sought to maintain their religious independence from royal interference. Scotland was a nation at war with itself, torn between loyalty to the crown and allegiance to the Covenant.
Montrose, once a Covenanter himself, had switched sides in 1644, committing himself to the Royalist cause. He brought with him not only military brilliance but also an uncanny ability to inspire loyalty from disparate groups—Lowland Scots, Highland clans, and even Irish troops led by the fearsome Alasdair Mac Colla. By early 1645, Montrose had already carved a path of victories across Scotland, defeating Covenanter armies at Tippermuir, Aberdeen, and Inverlochy.
But the Covenanters were not yet broken. On May 9th, Major-General Sir John Hurry, a seasoned soldier recently returned from England, launched a surprise dawn assault on Montrose’s encampment outside Auldearn. Believing he had caught the Royalists unprepared and outnumbered, Hurry hoped to deliver a crippling blow.
And indeed, the situation looked dire for Montrose. His army was scattered, his men weary. But Montrose, ever the tactician, had anticipated the possibility of an ambush. In a masterstroke of deception, he stationed Alasdair Mac Colla and a small force, prominently positioned with banners flying, to give the illusion that this was the full Royalist army. Meanwhile, the bulk of Montrose’s forces lay hidden in reserve behind a ridge and thick woodland.
As Hurry’s troops hurled themselves against Mac Colla’s apparent frontline, the Royalist decoy held just long enough. Then, at Montrose’s signal, the concealed troops emerged and struck with devastating force. The Covenanter line, stretched thin and overextended, began to collapse under the dual pressure of frontal resistance and a sudden flank attack.
What followed was not merely a rout—it was a massacre. Around 2,000 Covenanter soldiers were slain on the field, a staggering number compared to roughly 200 Royalist casualties. The battle, over in a matter of hours, cemented Montrose’s reputation as one of the most brilliant military minds of his generation.
But Auldearn was more than a tactical triumph. It was psychological warfare at its finest. Montrose’s victory sent shockwaves through the Covenanter ranks and emboldened Royalist sympathizers throughout the Highlands. For King Charles I, the win offered a fleeting moment of hope in an increasingly grim struggle. For Scotland, it signaled that Montrose and his motley army of Highlanders and Irish soldiers were a force to be reckoned with.
In the aftermath, Montrose continued his campaign, moving swiftly to confront Covenanter forces in other parts of Scotland. Yet for all his victories, the tide of war would ultimately turn. Just a year later, Montrose would face defeat at Philiphaugh, and the Royalist cause in Scotland would falter. But on that spring morning in Auldearn, Montrose reached the zenith of his power—a Highland David felling a much larger Goliath.
Today, the quiet fields near Auldearn hold little sign of the carnage that once unfolded there. But for those who study the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, it remains one of the most remarkable examples of strategy and surprise in Scottish military history.
Thank you for joining me on This Day in Scottish History. For more tales of Scotland’s past—some bloody, some brave, all unforgettable—visit my blog at bagtownclans.com/thisday. The link’s in the description. Until next time, I'm Colin MacDonald—Haste Ye Back!
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