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.
Background
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 He had been given command of a mixture of new, untrained levies from Fife, a number of regular regiments withdrawn from England, and the remnants of several regiments already defeated by Montrose at Auldearn and Alford.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.
Deployments
Montrose had been reinforced at Dunkeld by 800 high-quality infantry and 400 cavalry led by Viscount Aboyne. He retained at least 500 of his Irish troops, a large number of Lowland infantry from the Gordon estates, and a regiment of Athollmen under Patrick Graham of Inchbrackie, as well as up to 1400 Highlanders from western clans: a total of around 3000 foot, with up to 600 cavalry and dragoons. Baillie is stated to have had up to 7,000 infantry based on Royalist accounts, though 3,500 may be a more accurate figure. While four of the government regiments were regulars, and a further unit under Lieutenant-Colonel Kennedy was made up of the remains of three veteran regiments from Alford and Auldearn, a large proportion of Baillie's foot was composed of the three newly raised regiments of levies from Fife, led by the lairds of Fordell, Ferny and Cambo. On news of the Royalist advance, the levies had already attempted to desert en masse, and had to be forcibly brought back.
Royalist (James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose) Infantry regiments Irish Brigade (Alasdair Mac Colla) Mac Colla's Lifeguard Strathbogie Regiment Col. Patrick Graham of Inchbrackie's Regiment Col. William Gordon of Monymore's Regiment Col. James Farquharson of Inverey's Regiment Clan MacDonell of Glengarry / western clans Cavalry Col. Nathaniel Gordon's Regiment Viscount Aboyne's Regiment Earl of Airlie's Regiment Viscount Aboyne's Regiment of Dragoons Captain John Mortimer's Regiment of Dragoons (Irish) Covenanter (Maj-Gen. William Baillie) Infantry regiments Marquess of Argyll's Regiment Earl of Crawford-Lindsay's Regiment Col. Robert Home's Regiment Earl of Lauderdale's Regiment Lt-Col. John Kennedy's Battalion Col. James Arnot of Ferny's Regiment Col. John Henderson of Fordell's Regiment Sir Thomas Morton of Cambo's Regiment Cavalry Earl of Balcarres' Regiment Col. Harie Barclay's Regiment