that the cannon might play freely. On the north the city was protected by water. Everywhere its walls were defended by cannon, and the thirty-three banners of the armed trades were displayed above its gates; while the citizens followed their daily avocations in shop and booth in their buff coats and cuirasses, with sword at side and matchlock close at hand. General Leslie's head-quarters were in the village of Broughton, now incorporated with the city of Edinburgh. While Cromwell, in sore straits for provisions, was hovering about the borders of Haddingtonshire. Charles II. landed at Leith from Stirling, and proceeded on horseback along the line of the trenches to Edinburgh, where his appearance "bred grate confusion and neglect of dutie in campe." With him came his life guards, under their colonel, the Earl of Eglinton, popularly known as "Auld Greysteel," magnificently armed and mounted, and having on their standards and kettle-drums the mottoes, "Nobis hæc invicta miserunt," and "Pro religione." Cromwell, at the head of his whole army, made a furious attack on the Scottish position. Exasperated by the result of a sortie made by MajorGeneral Montgomerie, who, at the head of 2,000 select Scottish dragoons, in the night nearly routed his whole force, by breaking into the camp, when they killed and wounded six field officers and 500 men, his army came on with ardour, while twelve English ships opened their broadsides on Leith. As the English advanced, the rising sun of the July morning shone full on the long line of helmets that glittered above the Scottish trenches, and the regimental standards that, waving at intervals, marked the different corps. Immediately on their clearing the lake and rocks at Restalrig, and advancing over the dead level ground, the field-batteries on the Calton and the cannon from Leith opened a simultaneous fire upon them, while a rolling fusilade ran along the whole Scottish line from flank to flank, poured closely and securely throwing them into confusion, and compelling them to retire in disorder, with the loss of two pieces of cannon and many killed and wounded. A strong column of English infantry, with a brigade of horse and two pieces of cannon, encircling Arthur's Seat, made an attempt to turn Leslie's flank, by forcing an entrance to the city at a southern suburb known as the Pleasance. On perceiving this movement, Colonel Campbell, of Lawers, brought his regiment of Highland musketeers at a double march up the ravine by the base of the Craigs, and lining the walls and hedges 261 about the ruins of St. Leonard's Chapel, opened from thence a fire so deadly that the English infantry fled, throwing aside their muskets, pikes, and collars of bandoleers, abandoning even their cannon, which, however, were brought off by the brigade of horse. On this second repulse before the city, Cromwell sounded a retreat, and retired to Musselburgh, where he made stables of the churches and firewood of the pews. These were the preludes to the great battle of Dunbar, and they occurred in a season that was rainy and moist (Balfour's "Brieffe Memorialls of Church and Staite," &c.). In a skirmish on the 26th of August, a Scots dragoon fired at Cromwell with his carbine and missed him, on which the Protector called to him, tauntingly, "If you had been one of my soldiers, I had cashiered you" (Whitelock). The situation of Cromwell was now become most critical. Repelled, out-generalled, and foiled in their attempts on Edinburgh by General Leslie, he had no provisions save such as he could obtain from his fleet with difficulty, or in insufficient quantities. The autumn became inclement, sickness broke out among his troops, and it was clearly impossible that they could remain in their present situation. On the evening of Saturday, the 31st of August (Old Style), they fired their huts, and marched towards Dunbar. Leslie, under whom old FieldMarshal Lord Leven was serving as a volunteer, immediately quitted his trenches, and, for the purpose of harassing the retreating enemy, hung upon their skirts closely with his horse-dragoons and lancers. Marching along the skirts of the Lammermuir, he took up a strong position on the Doon Hill, which overhangs the town of Dunbar, thus most skilfully and completely intercepting the retreat of the English. Regiment after regiment, the Scottish army seemed to gather and increase on the adjacent hills, "thick like a cloud, menacing such a shower to the English as would wash them out of their country, if not out of the world; and they boasted that they had them in a worse pound than the king had the Earl of Essex in Cornwall." Cromwell's army was now reduced to 12,000 men, who were drawn up along the base of the peninsula on which the town of Dunbar stands, in a line extending from Belhaven Bay on the west to Broxmouth on the east, about a mile and a half from "sea to sea.” Directly in their front, on the summit and slope of the Doon Hill, 500 feet above the water, with the dark barren heaths of the Lammermuir behind, lay the Scots, now 23,000 strong, and in the highest spirits, for it was impossible to attack them save at the most terrible risks. On the east the English were hemmed in by an appalling ravine or savage pass, called the Peath, where, according to Cromwell's own description, "ten men to hinder is better than forty to make way ;" and that place Leslie had occupied by two battalions of Lord Duffus's regiment, the brigade of General Bickerton, and a battery of cannon; thus when Cromwell sent nine regiments of infantry to force it, they signally failed. On the 1st of September the rain was pouring in torrents when the Scots took up their position. Among the Harleian MSS. in the British Museum is preserved a "List of ye Scottish Army at Dunbar," dividing it into nineteen regiments of horse, and only fifteen of infantry. From the singular mis-spelling of the Scottish names, it is evidently written by an Englishman; but may be given as follows: 66 THE HORSE AT DUNBAR BATTAILE." "The regiments of the Earl of Leven, Lieutenant-General Sir David Leslie, Major-General Sir Robert Montgomerie (Sergeant-Major of his father's, Eglinton's, regiment in 1644), Mid-Lothian (Colonel Sir John Browne), Charles Arnot (of Fernie), Colonel Craige, Colonel Archibald Strachan (who in 1651 deserted to the enemy), the Master of Forbess, Colonel Scott, Sir James Halkett, James Campbell (Lord Mauchline), George Lord Brechin, Arthur Erskine (of Scotscraig), Sir Robert Adair (of Balamena, Co. Antrim), John Earl of Cassilis, Robert Halkett, Gilbert Kerr, Adjutant-General Bickerton. "THE FFOOTT AT DUNBAR BATTAILE." "The regiments of Lieutenant-General Sir James Lumsdain (of Invergallie), Major-General Holbourne (of Menstrie), Lindsay of Pitscottie, Campbell of Lawers, Innes (son of Lord Invermarkie?), Sir John Haldane (of Gleneagles), Tallifield' (?), John Maclellan (Lord Kirkcud bright), Lindsay (Laird of Edzell), Hugh Master of Lovat, George Buchanan (of that Ilk), Sir Alexander Stuart, the General of the Artillery (Wemyss), Louis Home (of Wedderburn), land' (?)." ENGLISH REGIMENTS OF HORSE AT DUNBAR." "The Lord-General's (Cromwell's), 663 men; the Major-General's (Lambert's), 663 men; Colonel Fleetwood's (Lieutenant-General of the Horse), 663 men; Colonel Whalley's (Commissary-Gene ral), 663 men; Colonel Lilburn's, 663 men; Colonel Hacker's, 663 men; Colonel O'Key's Dragoons (afterwards Horse), 663 men (O'Key had been a drayman and chandler at Islington, and was hung at the Restoration). Total, officers and men, 5,415. "THE ENGLISH REGIMENTS OF FOOT AT DUNBAR." "The Lord-General's (afterwards LieutenantColonel Goffe's,) 1,307 men; Colonel Pride's, 1,307 men; Major General Bright's, 1,307 men; Maliverer's, 1,307 men; Sir Charles Fairfax's (afterwards slain at Ostende), 1,307 men; Daniel's, 1,307 men. Monk's regiment (now the Coldstream Guards)— five companies of Sir Arthur Haslerig, 550 men; five companies of Fenwick's (the Governor of Berwick), 550 men. Total officers and men, 10,249." The artillery train consisted of 960 men. The fortune of war seemed decidedly against the English. Their leader, however, in the words of one who knew him well, "was a strong manin the dark perils of war, in the high places of the field, hope shone in him like a pillar of fire when it had gone out in all others." After the repulse of his nine regiments in their attempt to force the passage of the Peaths at Colbrand's Path, on Monday, the 2nd of September, he wrote thus to Sir Arthur Haslerig, the Governor of Newcastle : "We are now upon an engagement (enterprise?) very difficult. The enemy hath blocked up our way at the Pass of Copperspath, through which we cannot get without almost a miracle. He lieth so upon the hills that we know not how to come that daily consumeth our men, who fall sick beyond way without great difficulty, and our lying here imagination. I perceive your forces are not in a capacity for present release; wherefore, whatever forces you can together, and the South to help becomes of us, it will be well for you to get what all good people. what they can. The business nearly concerneth Ffree-readiness to have fallen upon the back of CoppersIf your forces had been in path, it might have occasioned supplies to come to us. But the only wise God knows what is best. All shall work for good. Our spirits (minds?) are comfortable, though our present condition be as it is. And, indeed, we have much hope in the Lord, of whose mercy we have had large experience" ("Cromwell's Letters," &c., Vol. III.). This list, which is defective, omits the Life and Foot Guards, the regiments of Towers, Duffus, Kirkness, and others. The details of Cromwell's forces, as they first crossed the borders, are given by Colonel Mackinnon, in his "History of the Coldstream Guards," thus :: While seeking to comfort himself by canting in his usual fashion, Cromwell, in his desperate extremity, had thoughts of embarking his infantry and artillery on board his ships, and with his cavalry attempting to cut a passage through the Scots, and escape into England; but the folly of the clergy, who hovered like ravens of ill-omen among the ranks of the latter, and their national precipitancy, ruined the clear prospect of success, and extricated the invaders from their position of doubt and peril. They were under the impression that Cromwell actually had embarked half his men and half his guns, whereas he had only shipped off his sick and wounded, therefore that he would not fight, and fearing only that "the Blasphemers" should escape, the Committee of the Kirk urged a descent into the plain, to attack the English in their supposed retreat. These wild plans they urged in utter defiance of General Leslie, "whose authority was as dust in the balance when compared with that of the fanatical preachers. These," says Mr. Gleig, in his "Life of Cromwell," "proclaimed aloud that the Lord had delivered Antichrist into the hands of his people. They exhorted the soldiers at morning and evening exercise to march down in the might of the Most High; and, reminding them how Gideon had wrought salvation for Israel, and assuring them of a like result, were not sparing in their abuse of the over-caution of Leslie, whom they accused of lukewarmness in the cause of the Covenant." Most bitter must all this have been to Leslie, who had served with distinction under the great Gustavus, and who could avail himself of the great practical skill of the grand old soldier, Leven, the conqueror of the Poles at Dantzig, of the Austrians at Frankfort, who had been "commander in Westphalia, and governor of all the cities on the Baltic coast." Spurring their shaggy ponies from regiment to regiment, the clergy urged an attack with furious harangues, exactly as they had done at Kilsythe, and declaring, says Whitelock, "that God would no longer be their God if he delivered them not from the Sectaries." By these means the Scots became inflamed to the highest pitch of fury. Shouts rang along the lines, colours were waved and weapons brandished. No calm reasoning on the part of the general was listened to; they insisted on attacking Cromwell where he lay, instead of waiting quietly till the famine and sickness which prevailed in his camp should compel him to surrender at discretion. 263 ance of their fanatical zeal, they not only sent the king to the rear, but, to have an army entirely of saints, they insisted upon "purging it of all malignants," and those who had been "engagers" under the Duke of Hamilton, to the number of 4,000 men; in other words, prohibiting any of the oldest and most experienced soldiers-the rough but gallant Cavaliers who for ten years had been serving the crown-from taking part in the action. Never was folly more egregious, and never was its punishment more prompt or deservedly complete. An advantage having offered itself on a Sunday, says Hume, they hindered the general from making use of it, lest it should involve the nation in the sin of Sabbath-breaking! "The 'purgation' referred to," says the editor of the "Memorials of the Montgomeries," "led to the dismissal of the Earl of Eglinton and many of the flower of the Scottish army, and proved most disastrous to the cause of Charles. It took place almost in sight of Cromwell and his troops, and to it in a great measure may be attributed the disastrous defeat." Their object was to seize Cromwell's headquarters, Broxmouth Park, then the seat of Henry Earl of Roxburgh, and then pass the brook which has its source in the Lammermuir Hills, and, skirting the Doon Hill, falls into the sea to the north. Its course is through a rugged glen, forty feet deep, and as many broad; and from the base of the Doon Hill to the sea it formed the boundary of Cromwell's position. The morning of Monday saw his army ranged in order of battle along the left bank of this mountain burn and rugged glen. Compelled by the Committee to leave his position, Leslie sent his cavalry before sunrise to occupy the other side of the brook, and about four in the afternoon his artillery came down, followed by his whole army, moving to the front and to the right in successive brigades. The ground between the Doon Hill and the sea was at that time a low and uneven tract, only partially cultivated, in many places marshy and covered with the rough grass called bent. On this space there was but one solitary thatched farmhouse, the occupants of which were scared by the arrival of Cromwell's cannon, which at first he had placed in the church of Dunbar. Shots were first exchanged at a small shepherd's shealing, which stood nearly opposite the centre of the Doon Hill, at a place where the brook was passable for carts. Therein Colonels Pride and Lambert Nor was this all, says Gleig. In the exuber- had placed an out-picket of twenty-one men, who Leslie's horse drove out with the loss of three. About a mile to the east of this spot, and a little to the west of Broxmouth Park, was the only other pass across the Broxburn (a name which means the "Brook of Badgers "), where now the road to England lies; and from its southern bank the ground gradually slopes up into high table-land, out of which the Doon Hill rises; and on this ground the brunt of the battle ensued. In the afternoon of this eventful Monday, hence hampered in the narrow sloping ground between the hill and the brook, could neither manœuvre nor deploy. This defeat of the right wing, he assured himself, would result in the defeat of the whole. Lambert and General Monk, who came up at that moment, cordially approved of the plan, and it was resolved to put it in execution next morning early. The night proved wet and tempestuous, and the Cromwell was walking with General Lambert in the grounds of Broxmouth House, when, to his astonishment and joy, he perceived these unexpected movements among the Scots, and their abandonment of a splendid position. A small mound westward of the house, whereon he stood at that time, is still called Cromwell's Mount. He closed his telescope, and exclaimed, with a burst of genuine fervour, "They are coming! They are coming down! The Lord hath delivered them into our hands!" He remarked that it would give them great advantage if the English became the assailants, by crossing the brook and attacking the Scottish right wing in front and flank with such overwhelming force as to drive down upon it the centre, which, Scots, as they lay on the bare earth, suffered severely from the storm; but they lay in their ranks, every officer and trooper beside his charger, the gunners by their cannon. About three o'clock in the morning, by command of Major-General Holbourn, an order was passed along their lines to extinguish all matches save two per company, from which to light the rest when the drums beat to arms; and cowering under the corn-shocks and whin-bushes, they endeavoured to obtain a brief sleep and shelter. One hour later the English cavalry were in their saddles, and moving through the wind, the rain, and the darkness towards the pass over the brook. There were six regiments of horse under Lambert, with three and a half of foot as supports. Owing was now rolling up from the low ground, under the influence of the autumnal morning. The watchword of the Scots was "Scotland and the Covenant;" that of the English, "The Lord of Hosts." Perceiving the English moving on their flanks by regiments attired alternately in scarlet and buff doublets, the Scots were nothing loth to meet them. The attack was begun by a heavy regiment of Scottish lancers; and with that weapon, which the Comte de Montecuculi called "La reine des armes pour la cavalerie," and accoutred with back, breast, and pot, buff coat, pistols, and hangers, aided by a fire from their artillery, these made a furious charge down the sloping ground, and, by came up, and then ensued a close and bloody contest at the point of the sword, neither party giving ground for nearly an hour. Cromwell-or Agag, as the Scottish preachers termed him-directed his whole strength to assailing the right wing, to the end that it might be hurled upon the already hampered centre, and ere long it began to fall back as he had foreseen. Then, says Captain Hodgson, "the general himself comes in the rear of our regiments, and commands to incline to the left, that is, to take inore ground clear of all bodies, and we did so; and horse and foot were engaged all over the field, and the Scots all in confusion." From a cloud at that moment there was a |