Captain William Govan (1623–1661). was a Scottish officer who fought for the
Covenanters during the
Wars of the Three Kingdoms
The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of related conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, then separate entities united in a personal union under Charles I. They include the 1639 to 1640 B ...
. He was awarded the honour of presenting
Montrose's standard Standard may refer to:
Symbols
* Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs
* Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification
Norms, conventions or requirements
* Standard (metrology), an object th ...
to the
Scottish Parliament in 1650. He was accused of
deserting
Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or Military base, post without permission (a Pass (military), pass, Shore leave, liberty or Leave (U.S. military), leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with u ...
the
Scottish army
The Scots Army ( Scots: ''Scots Airmy'') was the army of the Kingdom of Scotland between the Restoration in 1660 and the Acts of Union of 1707. A small standing army was established at the Restoration, which was mainly engaged in opposing Co ...
later the same year and supporting the English
New Model Army under the command of
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...
, which was at that time invading Scotland. On 1 June 1661, the year after the
restoration of the monarchy, and a few days after he was found guilty of
treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
, he was hanged as a traitor next to the
Mercat Cross in Edinburgh and his head was put on a spike and displayed at
West Port, Edinburgh
The West Port is a street in Edinburgh's Old Town, Scotland, located just south of Edinburgh Castle. It runs from Main Point (the junction of Bread Street, Lauriston Street, East Fountainbridge and High Riggs) down to the south west corner o ...
.
Biography
At the age of fourteen (around 1637), Govan had a religious awakening, and would remain a devout
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
for the rest of his life. Like many Scotsmen he supported both the
National Covenant and the
Solemn League.
In 1650, Govan was a captain in the horse (cavalry) regiment of Colonel
Archibald Strachan and took part in the
Battle of Carbisdale
The Battle of Carbisdale (also known as Invercarron) took place close to the village of Culrain, Sutherland, Scotland on 27 April 1650 and was part of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It was fought by the Royalist leader James Graham, 1st Marq ...
which led to the defeat and the subsequent capture of the Royalist general
Montrose. After the battle Groven was given the honour of taking Montrose's standard through the streets of Edinburgh and delivering it to the Scottish Parliament.
Strachan took a more extreme position than those who supported the
Western Remonstrance
The Western Remonstrance was drawn up on 17 October 1650 by Scotsmen who demanded that the Act of Classes (1649) was enforced (removing Engagers from the army and other influential positions) and remonstrating against Charles, the son of the rece ...
drawn up at Dumfries on 17 October against fighting for
Charles II unless he abandoned those excluded from public office and the army by the
Act of Classes
The Act of Classes was passed by the Parliament of Scotland on 23 January 1649. It was probably drafted by Lord Warriston, a leading member of the Kirk Party, who along with the Marquess of Argyll were leading proponents of its clauses. It bann ...
(1649). Strachan and two of his officers, Govan (now a major) and Scoutmaster Dundas, had sent a set of queries to Cromwell and other officers, to which the latter replied. So Strachan refused to sign the Remonstrance on the grounds that if the Scots were to reject Charles II as king of Scotland (rather than just banning his supporters from public office and the army), then the English New Model Army would have no reason to continue the campaign and would return to south of the border.
Strachan, was dismissed from his command, and Govan, and Dundas were
cashiered
Cashiering (or degradation ceremony), generally within military forces, is a ritual dismissal of an individual from some position of responsibility for a breach of discipline.
Etymology
From the Flemish (to dismiss from service; to discard ...
. Strachan at first refused to relinquish his command and when he did, he remained close to his regiment while
Gilbert Ker was placed in command of the army.
Ker readmitted Govan into the army, on the promise that he would fight for him. Ker decided to attack the English garrisoned at Hamilton not realising that Lambert had arrived with a large squadron of horse. The dawn attack which was meant to be a surprise was met by the English alert and ready for action. The
Battle of Hamilton was a debacle, with Ker (who was wounded), Govan and others taken prisoner.
The remnants of the routed Scots melted away. But Strachan, Dundas and thirty others, left to join the English Parliamentary army. For his actions over the Hamilton affair, Strachan was found guilty of treason, his property was forfeited and he was excommunicated from the Kirk. He died the following year (1652).
At the
Restoration
Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to:
* Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage
** Audio restoration
** Film restoration
** Image restoration
** Textile restoration
* Restoration ecology
...
of the monarchy, Govan was tried for treason on a warrant originally raised in 1651.
["Sir George M'Kenzie dvocate General in 1661alleges it was for joining in the English army in 1651" .] He was found guilty of deserting the Scottish army and supporting the English army. Although not formally accused of them, two other rumours that circulated accused him of forewarning the English of the Scottish attack on Hamilton, and that he had been present on the scaffold when Charles I was executed. The former was never proven and the latter was dismissed because of his denial of such during the public speech he made before the gallows just before his hanging. Likewise during his gallows speech he denied that he had gone over to the English in 1650, but said that he had been a prisoner of war captured at Hamilton.
Govan was hanged for high treason beside the Mercat Cross in Edinburgh shortly after
James Guthrie both of whom were executed soon after 2 o'clock on 1 June 1661. Once he was dead, his head was cut off and was placed on spike on the West Port of Edinburgh.
Family
Govan was married. Just before he was executed he gave a friend a ring from his finger, requesting that it be given to his wife.
Notes
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Govan, William
Scottish soldiers
1623 births
1661 deaths
Executed Scottish people
Covenanters
People executed for treason against Scotland
17th-century soldiers
People executed by the Kingdom of Scotland by hanging