SAHR Monthly Talk: Warwick Louth on the Scots Army 1660-85 – Police force or failure?
Thursday 10th October 2024
Warwick Louth spoke to the Society about the 'The Scots Army 1660-85: Police force or failure?' on 10 October 2024. A recording of the talk is now available on Demio:
Register for the talk via Demio: https://youtu.be/_5ZzOIVR4uQ
Synopsis
In 1660, there was no British Army. In post-Civil War Britain, an uneasy alliance between state and monarch, coupled with recession, meant that any military force, beyond ceremonial and policing, was paltry in the extreme. This was no clearer than in Scotland. Previously in the throes of nonconformist Presbyterian worship, at the advent of the Restoration, the imposition of Episcopalianism on society created a relationship of mutual distrust. Thus, any independent Scots Army was built on shaky ideological foundations.
Underfunded and amateur, the Scots Army, barring a regular core, was largely made up of fencibles and militia. Established as a means of policing nascent Covenanter and (emerging) Dutch incursion, with a conflict of interest with the armies commanders in the King’s inner circle, the Scots Army soon became a tool of repression. With the likes of General Tam Dalyell of the Binns and James Graham of Claverhouse pursuing personal vendettas, any simmering unrest amongst the Scots population, soon became full blown insurgency. With policing being heavy handed, vindictive and at best poorly executed, the Scots Army created a rod for its own back. And yet, by being able to play so drawn out a rebellion, the Scots Army would be well schooled in counter insurgency, suppressing the future Jacobite Rebellions.
This paper will therefore look at the organisation and equipment of the Scots Army, their motivation backgrounds and ultimate campaign history, initially against the Covenanters and latterly against the Jacobites.
Speaker biography
Warwick Louth is fascinated by battlefields. A qualified conflict archaeologist, military historian and battlefield guide, he is also a Trustee of the Scottish Battlefields Trust. Warwick guides for the NTS Battle of Bannockburn Experience. Recently he appeared, alongside Al Murray "The Pub Landlord", on Sky History's Why Do The Brits Win Every War. His books, The Arte Militaire (2016) and Monmouth’s First Rebellion (2023), are published by Helion.