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

parents come upon you and pursue you til they overtake you, and let
nothing you take in hand prosper, for you are a crosse (I may say a curse)
to your father and heavinesse to your mother, if you continue in your
waies. 107
Whether or not this letter represented his true feelings towards his son, Argyle’s
actions, from this time onwards, did impress the English more than his words. In the
late summer and early autumn of 1653, he not only provided regular information to
the English about the movements of his son, but provided military assistance to the
English army.
In August, the English army – led by Col. Cobbett – invaded the isles of Lewis and
Mull, partly as a response to Seaforth’s earlier exploits on Lewis. The army landed on
Lewis on 20 August where they met with little resistance and proceeded to establish
garrisons at Eilandonan Castle in Ross-shire and Stornoway. 108 Mull, however, was
under the control of Maclean of Duart, an ardent royalist sympathiser. On hearing of
the English threat, Maclean accompanied by Glencairn, escaped to Tiree. At this point
Argyle stepped in to use his influence with the islanders of Mull, convincing them to
submit to English domination, to pay their assessment and to withhold rent from
Maclean. A further garrison was then established at Duart Castle. 109
Moreover, when Cobbett was obliged to return to the Lowlands by land as a result of
a storm that wrecked his three vessels, Argyle again provided assistance. He ensured
that Cobbett and his men were safely guided through Argyllshire to Dumbarton,
personally conducting them to Loch Goyle. Viscount Kenmore, who had hoped to
utilise the situation by embarking on a surprise attack, acknowledged the involvement
of ‘oure unnaturall cuntriman’ in thwarting his plans. 110 Argyle also warned Col.
Reade of a possible encounter in the western parts of Stirling in early September. 111
Significantly, the Royalist leaders regarded Argyle as a base traitor. At the end of
106 Firth, C.H. Scotland and the Commonwealth, pp.165-166.
107 Ibid., pp.166-167.
108 See Akerman, J.Y (ed.) Letters from Roundhead Officers written from Scotland and Chiefly
Addressed to Captain Adam Baynes (Edinburgh: The Bannatyne Club, 1856), p.65.
109 Dow, F.D. Cromwellian Scotland, p.94 and Firth, C.H. Scotland and the Commonwealth, pp.186-
187, 202-203.
110 Dow, F.D. Cromwellian Scotland, p.94.