| Notes |
- 1 - Sir Duncan was the first Lt. Col. of the Scots Guard
"In the autumn of 1641 Ireland rose in rebellion against the Scottish settlers who for some time past had been colonizing Ulster. No standing army then existed, and to deal with this situation King Charles I sanctioned the raising of ten Scottish regiments for service in Ireland to be paid for by the English Parliament.
The King had intended to go himself to Ireland 1642 to direct the operations against the rebels, and on 16th Marth, 1642, he issued at Westminster a Commission addressed to Archibald, 1st Marquess of Argyll, authorizing him to raise a Royal Regiment of 1,500 men to be led into our Realm of Ireland. This Regiment was intended by the King to be his Royal Guard, and from this date the history of the Scots Guards begins.
Argyll already possessed a Regiment of foot which he had raised for his own use in 1639. This regiment he at once transferred to the Royal Service, and as Argyles Regiment it sailed for Ireland within the month. A politician rather than a soldier, Argyll appointed his kinsman,* Sir Duncan Campbell of Auchinbreck, to command his Regiment for him. This custom of Colonel of the Regiment and Lieutenant-Colonel Commanding was universal at this time and exists in the Regiment to the present day. For six long and ill-paid years Argylls Regiment protected the Scottish colonists in Ulster from the onslaughts of the native Irish, only returning to Scotland once, between April 1645 and June 1646, when it fought for its Colonel against Montrose at Kilsyth..."
[www.scotsguards.co.uk/history.htm]
2 - The Battle of Inverlochy (February 2 1645) was a battle of the Scottish Civil War in which Montrose routed the pursuing forces of the Marquess of Argyll.
On January 14, having sacked Inverary, the seat of the Campbells of Argyll, the Royalist forces left Inverary and headed north. It is believed that Montrose split his army at Glen Etive sending part of it up past Ballachulish while the bulk continued across Rannoch Moor , into Glencoe.
At Glencoe the army crossed the high passes into Glen Nevis, moved around the north slopes of Ben Nevis , circumventing Inverlochy Castle, and then continued up the Great Glen, arriving at Kilcummin to re-supply. Montroses' army was dwindling as his highlanders continued to head home leaving him with about 1500 men. He was aware that a Covenanter army under the command of the Earl of Seaforth was waiting to confront him at Inverness. Montrose was also aware that Argyll, with a force of 3000 men, was pursuing him and was only thirty miles behind at Inverlochy. What followed was one of the greatest flanking marches in British history across some of the toughest and wildest terrain in the British Isles. Instead of marching back down the glen, Montrose decided to surprise Argyll and marched south through the mountains around Ben Nevis in order to mount a surprise attack.
The Montrose army spent a cold night in the open on the side of Ben Nevis. Argyll was aware that a small force was operating in the area, he did not know however that it was the entire royal army. Just before dawn on February 2, Argyll and his covenanters were dismayed at the sight that lay before them, as far as they were aware Montrose should have been 30 miles north.
Argyll did not stay for the battle, but instead he left the command of his army to his General, Duncan Campbell of Auchinbreck and retired to his galley that was anchored on Loch Linnhe . Auchinbreck lined up the covenanters in front of Inverlochy castle, which he reinforced with 200 musketeers to protect his left flank. In the centre he placed the Campbells of Argyll and put the lowland militias on the flanks. Unlike at Tippermuir and Aberdeen , where Montrose had anihilated hastily conscripted and poorly trained militias , the troops he faced at Inverlochy were veterans of the war in England. Montrose lined his army up in only two lines deep to avoid being out flanked, placing his 600 highlanders in the centre with the Irish on the flanks, the right being commanded by MacColla . The fight did not start straight away and instead skirmishes broke out along the line. This is probably due to the fact that Auchinbreck and his officers believed that they were only fighting one of Montrose's lieutenants and not the man himself, believing he was still far up the glen. Just before first light, the Royalists launched their attack.
The Irish clashed violently with the lowlanders on both flanks and routed them while the highlanders closed with the Campbells in the centre. The Campbells broke, and their retreat to the castle blocked by the Royalist reserve cavalry under the command of Sir Thomas Ogilvie. Auchinbreck was shot in the thigh while trying to rally his men and died shortly afterwards. The remaining Covenanters briefly rallied around their standard, then broke and ran, trying to reach Lochaber. The small garrison in Inverlochy castle surrendered without a fight. Over 1500 Covenanter troops died, while Montrose is reputed to have only lost 8 men, the most notable was Sir Thomas Ogilvie who was killed by a stray bullet.
Montrose, through his lieutenant, MacColla (who commanded the 2000 Irish troops sent by the Irish Confederates ), was able to use this conflict to rally Clan Donald against Clan Campbell. In many respects, the battle of Inverlochy was as much part of the clan war between these two deadly enemies and their allies as it was part of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and was portrayed as such in Gaelic Highland folklore.
2 - The situation of Knapdale was developing administratively. After having been included in the Shire of Tarbert, from 1481-1633, Knapdale was included in Argyll and was represented in Parliament by her biggest landholder, Sir Duncan Campbell of Auchenbreck. This district was part of the Sheriffdom of Argyll and the Isles of which the Earl of Argyll possessed the heritable office of Justiciary with privileges, liberties, immunities, casualties, profits and duties, an arrangement which lasted till 1748.
The Parish was strong in a military sense. It was dominated by Castle Sween, the key of Knapdale.
("North Knapdale in the XVII and XVIIIth Centuries" by Alexander Fraser, B.D., 1964)
3 - Blàr Inbhir Lòchaidh (The Battle of Inverlochy)
This very old song is said to have been composed by a Campbell woman after the Battle of Inverlochy in 1645. In this battle the Campbells and the Covenanters were routed by Montrose and his troops. It is said that little quarter was given as we can hear as this woman sings of losing her, father, husband, four brothers and three sons in the battle as well as having her fields and animals burned. It was collected by John Lorne Campbell from Angus "The Ridge" MacDonald of Lower South River, Antigonish County.
Blàr Inbhir Lòchaidh (The Battle of Inverlochy)
It is I who am lost, na i ri ri si ri o ro
I have been deeply wounded, na i ro ri o ho.
Since the day of the Battle of Inverlochy, na i ro ri o ho.
Being routed by the churlish Irishmen, na i ro ri o ho.
Who came to Scotland with nothing but their cloaks, na i ri ri si ri o ro
They gave strength to the MacDonalds, na i ro ri o ho.
They slew my father and my husband, na i ri ri si ri o ro
And my three sons, na i ri ri si ri o ro
And my four brothers were struck down, na i ri ri si ri o ro
They burned my oats and my barley, na i ri ri si ri o ro
They killed my big beefy cattle, na i ri ri si ri o ro
And my white sheep, they roasted, na i ri ri si ri o ro.
I have been deeply wounded, na i ri ri si ri o ro
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Abt 1597 - 1645 (48 years)