The Battle of Mauchline Muir was an engagement fought on 12 June 1648 between two rival factions of the

Covenanters Covenanters ( gd, Cùmhnantaich) were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. The name is derived from ''Covenan ...

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 The Kirk Party were a radical Presbyterian faction of the Scottish Covenanters during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. They came to the fore after the defeat of the Engagers faction in 1648 at the hands of Oliver Cromwell and the English Parl ...

Background

By 1646, the Presbyterian Covenanter movement had defeated the Scottish Royalists, who favoured unconditional loyalty to King

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

. In 1646 at the end of the

First English Civil War The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. They include the Bishops' Wars, the Irish Confederate Wars, the Second English Civil War, the Anglo ...

, 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

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

s in the

New Model Army The New Model Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Th ...

. 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 agreed to a secret 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

Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll Archibald Campbell, Marquess of Argyll, 8th Earl of Argyll, Chief of Clan Campbell (March 160727 May 1661) was a Scottish nobleman, politician, and peer. The ''de facto'' head of Scotland's government during most of the conflict of the 1640s and ...

were opposed, because Charles refused to take the

National Covenant The National Covenant () was an agreement signed by many people of Scotland during 1638, opposing the proposed reforms of the Church of Scotland (also known as ''The Kirk'') by King Charles I. The king's efforts to impose changes on the church i ...

personally and they feared he would not honour the agreement if he were restored to power in England. By 1648, the Engagers were predominant in the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...

and they authorised the sending of an army, under the command of

James, Duke of Hamilton James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton, KG, PC (19 June 1606 – 9 March 1649), known as The 3rd Marquess of Hamilton from March 1625 until April 1643, was a Scottish nobleman and influential political and military leader during the Thirty Year ...

, south to implement the agreement. England had been engulfed in the

Second English Civil War The Second English Civil War took place between February to August 1648 in Kingdom of England, England and Wales. It forms part of the series of conflicts known collectively as the 1639-1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, which include the 1641� ...

and it was not unreasonable for the Scots to expect support from English Royalists.

Battle

In June 1648, a members of the Kirk party gathered in Mauchline to join in a celebration of the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

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 John Middleton, 1st Earl of Middleton ( – 3 July 1674) was a professional soldier and mercenary from Kincardineshire in Scotland. Beginning his career in the Thirty Years War, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms he fought for the Covenanters ...

, and James Livingstone, Earl of Callender. The Kirk party supporters had in their company seven ministers who managed to obtain assurance from the Engager leaders that if their group surrendered, there would be an amnesty. But the majority of the Kirk party did not accept these terms. Many were eager for the fight and some 200 of the party were deserters who were excluded from the amnesty. For some time, the Kirk party supporters held their own, but when reinforcements arrived to more than double the Engager troops, the day was decided. Though the Engagers took the day, each side of the conflict lost roughly equal numbers, with combined fatalities estimated between 30 and 40 men. All seven ministers and 65 members of the Kirk party were arrested, but later freed.

Aftermath

While the Engagers were victorious, the battle itself helped firm Scottish opposition to the Engagement. A couple of months after this small victory the Engager army commanded by James Duke of Hamilton suffered a crushing defeat by New Model Army at the Battle of Preston, and after a short civil war in Scotland the Kirk party emerged as victors (see

Whiggamore Raid The Whiggamore Raid (or "March of the Whiggamores") was a march on Edinburgh by supporters of the Kirk faction of the Covenanters to take power from the Engagers whose army had recently been defeated by the English New Model Army at the Battle ...

, the Battle of Stirling and the Treaty of Stirling). Subsequently, a Scottish Parliament convened in Edinburgh on 4 January 1649 and "approved the opposition" represented by those at Mauchline.

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Background

Battle

Aftermath

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Further reading