Keep Your Powder Dry

Yet more Scottishness from the ECWtravelogue summer jolly... Blair Castle Blair Castle , was garrisoned for the Royalist Engager cause, but was besieged by the New Model Army who took it quickly in 1650. bronze mortar barrel, inscribed "Thomas Pitt made this peece 1614", it also bears the Rose of England and Iacobus Rex The castle entrance hall is resplendently bedecked with C16th and C18th militaria, alas no clearly identifiable C17th weaponry.  James Stanley, Lord Strange The family are closely related to James Stanley, Lord Strange (yes, that Lord Strange, who lost his head at Bolton), as a result there are a number of Stanley family portraits Outside the Castle entrance there are a number of artillery barrels. the majority of which are C16th, there is also an early C17th mortar. John, Earl of Atholl As ardent supporters of the crown, there are a large number of portraits of Charles I and his immediate family. Prince Rupert of the Rhine The tapestry room sports elaborate t...

  The latest instalment of the ECWtravelogue summer road trip. This time attention turns to the Borders. The Battle of Philiphaugh was fought on 13th September 1645, to the south west of Selkirk. After Montrose's victory at Kilsyth in August 1645, he made a critical error: rather than pressing on and consolidating his gains, he allowed his army to disperse, giving his enemies a chance to regroup.  the battlefield from the walkway Montrose appeared to be unaware that Leslie had marched north from England with a substantial Covenanter army. On the 11th, Leslie had joined forces with the Lothian troops at Gladsmuir and then proceeded south. On night of the12th, unbeknownst to Montrose, the Covenanter army advanced toward Selkirk, disrupting the quarters of Montrose's rear guard. His seriously outnumbered army was taken by surprise by the advancing Covenanter forces, who routed Montrose's army from the field. The defeat marked the end of Montrose’s effective campaign in Scot...

The second of the ECWtravelogue posts from its grand summer Scottish road trip. Ayr Citadel was started in 1652 during the Interregnum, and possibly never finished. The site of the fort  is outlined by Montgomorie Terrace, Arran Terrace, Ailsa Place and Bruce Crescent. What had been built was demolished upon the Restoration. The Battle of Kilsyth took place on the 15th August 1645. Having won victories at Tippermuir, Aberdeen, Fyvie, Inverlochy, Auldearn and Alford, Montrose attempted to break into the Lowlands. From Alford, Montrose headed south along the east coast making for Glasgow. Two Covenanter forces, under Argyll and Baillie, following in pursuit. By nightfall on the 14th August, Montrose was camped in the area around Colzium Castle, his forces consisted of about 3000 foot, with up to 600 cavalry and dragoons.   The Covenanters numbered between 3500 and 7000. The two sides met in the area that is now covered by Banton Loch. The traditional deployment h...

The first of rather a lot of Scottish entries to the now rather inappropriately named, ECW travelogue.  Apologies to Scottish readers who steadfastly, and proudly hang on to traditional Scottish shire boundaries, for ease of writing I have gone with the nine Scottish regions established by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. (Yes I know those areas are now defunct, but it made sense at the time when I was planning the entries.) A brief entry, in comparison to those Scottish regions to come, but important nonetheless. The West Port of St Andrews was built in 1587 as a monumental entrance to the city’s South Street. It was less a defensive structure than it was a symbol of civic pride. Charles II visited St Andrews in 1650 and was presented with silver keys before the West port by the provost of St Andrews. A plaque marks the event, located inside one of the gateway's arches. Battle of Inverkeithing ,  20th July 1651,   saw an outnumbered New Model Army decimate a Sc...