The Glencairn Uprising, 1653-54 Helen Baker Department of ...

The first task with which Middleton was faced involved gathering sufficient funding
and resources to give the Royalists a chance of victory. He realised his best chance of
revenue was from rich Scottish nobles living out of the country and from the courts of
Europe. However, despite letters from Middleton and visits from his agents, only a
paltry amount was collected on behalf of the King over the next few months. On 9
August, Charles II instructed Middleton to pursue contributions from the Dutch.
However, soon after his arrival in Holland in autumn, Middleton fell seriously ill with
tertian fever and royalist plots were temporarily suspended.
The cessation in activity irritated the most prominent Highland chiefs, notably Angus
Macdonald of Glengarry who was acting chief of the royalist forces in Scotland. In
July, he had sent a messenger, Captain Malcolm Smith, to the King, requesting
commissions and limited assistance and stores. Smith arrived in Holland in October
and had reached Paris by mid-November. He informed Charles that Glengarry, the
clan Fraser, the lairds of Maclean and Macleod, the chief of Clanranald and many
others had each vowed to raise an army of 1000 men. Others had promised a few
hundred each. 74
On 20 December, Charles drew up a document detailing the appointment of six
commissioners, including Glengarry, to act as a Council of War until Middleton was
able to take command. In addition, they were granted the authority to appoint a
provisional commander-in-chief. The letter also instructed the Highland chiefs to lay
aside all personal jealousies that had hindered the royalist cause in the recent war:
You shall proceede in all your actions without any faction and personall
animosityes, suppressing all antient grudges and differences which may
have been formerly, and be heartily united with and to all who heartily
desire to advance Our service, and to free your Country from the servitude
it now suffers under, which being the common cause, is to be only and
zealously intended, remembring that your enemyes will not make lesse use
of any divisions and differences which shall happen amongst your selves
for your owne destruccion, then of their armyes, and hope to compasse it
sooner by the former than by the latter. 75
74 Dow, F.D. Cromwellian Scotland, p.69.
75 Firth, C.H. Scotland and the Commonwealth, p.69.