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

It appears that the first Royalist gathering place was the in region between Lochaber
and Inverness. On 13 August Lilburne wrote to Col. Thomas Reade, the governor of
Stirling, that Glencairn was not far north of Badenoch and heading towards Inverness
and that he was joined by around 1200 men including Lorne and Glengarry. Lilburne
added that the inhabitants of Badenoch and Atholl had refused to join the rebels.
However, it seems that as far south as Stirling was at risk from the insurgents. A few
days later, in a letter to Cromwell, Lilburne reported that Kenmore and the Tutor of
Macgrigar had retreated to the Hills after attempting to stir up support in the area
between Dumbarton and Stirling. Another group of rebels were in Frazers’ country to
the east of Inverness. It seems that the rebels were capitalising on rumours which
suggested that Middleton and the Duke of Gloucester were to land on 20 August at
Portpatrick with 10 000 men. 133
On 18 August, Lilburne wrote that the news of the Dutch defeat had provoked the
rebel forces to disperse from Bonnywher near Ruthven Castle in Badenoch. Lorne and
M’Lean (M’Clane) had returned to their own territories in Argyllshire and the Isle of
Mull respectively. Glencairn and Glengarry had travelled in the direction of Lochaber
while the Macgrigars had travelled to the west of Stirling. The rumour that the
Highlanders had dispersed is illustrated in a letter from Argyle to Lilburne dated 30
August 1653. He passed on the information that only Kenmore, McNaughton and
Lorne were still ‘bent on mischief’. 134
It seems that the insurgents realised they were insufficiently strong to engage in open
combat so had temporarily broken up into marauding bands and had travelled to
various parts of the country. On 3 September, Argyle reported that Lorne and his
cousin Kenmore were in Menteith, a few miles to the west of Stirling, Glencairn was
on the Isle of Mull and Seaforth had returned to his territory in Kintail. Col. Reade,
the governor of Stirling, attempted to pursue Lorne and Kenmore but with little
success. A skirmish took place at Aberfoyle at which both sides declared victory.
Reade only managed to kill two or three of the insurgents for the remainder quickly
132 Gardiner, S.R. History of the Commonwealth and Protectorate 1649-1656, pp.91-92 and Willcock,
J. A Scots Earl in Covenanting Times, p.47.
133 Firth, C.H. Scotland and the Commonwealth, pp.194-195.
134 Ibid., pp.196, 197-198n.