Disclaimer
The struggle between the Stuart dynasty and the incoming House of Orange in the late 17th century is one which has become shrouded in religious, political and nationalistic fervour.
Other than being a Scot and a natural Royalist, I have no preference towards any of these factions! Indeed, with my personal beliefs they would ALL have been queuing up to burn me at the stake...
Other than being a Scot and a natural Royalist, I have no preference towards any of these factions! Indeed, with my personal beliefs they would ALL have been queuing up to burn me at the stake...
Introduction...
Jacobus Rex VII & II
This ‘alternative history’ which is the basis for my Scots Jacobite army of 1690 relies on three very simple twists of fate…
i) Viscount Dundee survived the Battle of Killiecrankie in 1689
ii) Dundee continued with the Royal army to Dunkeld and defeated the Cameronians.
iii) James overruled his advisors and reinforced Scotland in 1690 as he intended.
Historical:
Although James had not spent any significant period of time in Scotland he was well aware of the strategic potential of forcing William to fight on an additional front. With troops committed to England in a policing role, fighting in Ireland and obviously heavily engaged in Flanders any additional drain on his forces would have seriously weakened his position.
The other members of the Grand Alliance would have sued for peace on the removal of English troops from Flanders leaving William isolated against France.
In September / October 1688 James ordered units from the Irish Army to move to England in response to the perceived threat from the Dutch Republic. These units were:
one battalion of the Irish Guards, Anthony Hamilton's Regiment of Foot, Lord Forbes' Regiment of Foot and Butler's Dragoons
James had originally promised reinforcements to Scotland in April 1689, however the siege of Londonderry precluded their despatch.
These would have included the Earl of Antrim's, Cormac O'Neill's and Brig Gen Ramsey's (later the Lord Grand Prior's) regiments under Maj Gen Thomas Buchan.
A second wave of around 1,200 men was planned for May ’89 but the Williamites were waiting for them on Kintyre.
The only, slightly successful, attempt at sending troops to Scotland occurred in July ’89 when three French frigates sailed from Carrickfergus carrying Brig Gen Alexander Cannon, Col James Purcell's Regiment of Foot (400 raw recruits), part of Cannon's own regiment of dragoons and 79 unattached officers.
There is reference to both James Purcell's and Nicholas Purcell's dragoon regiments, both of which would have been operating dismounted.
Only one of the frigates made landfall, with the troops joining up with the MacPhersons before joining Dundee for Killiecrankie.
Although Tyrconnel vetoed most of James’ plans to significantly increase the effectiveness of the Jacobite forces in Scotland his ideas were potentially war-winning...
As the defenders in Derry outnumbered the attacking Jacobites by at least 50% it was proposed to merely blockade the city and move about 18,000 troops to Scotland (leaving some 32,000 in Ireland).
The appearance of experienced Irish and French troops in Scotland, along with badly needed cavalry, could have changed the outcome of the war and hence the history of these isles.
A major reason not being able to put these plans into practice was the dominance of the English Navy, built up by James himself...
Ironically, on the 28th June, 1690, two days before the Boyne (remember the Boyne was fought on the 1st July, old calendar) the French fleet heavily defeated the English off Beachy Head, leading to a week of panic in London.
With the seas now open to French transports and many leading Englishmen in contact with St. Germain, the initial welcome of the ‘revolution’ wearing thin and William in Ireland this would have been a perfect time to re-invade England!
The alternative story so far:
In late 1689 / early 1690 an Assembly of the highland Jacobite chiefs, lowland sympathisers and those leaders from Buchan, Angus and Gordon who had fought with John Graham, Viscount Dundee, along with His Grace and Major-General Buchan agreed that James should base himself in Scotland in the hope that having such a strong, loyal, foundation in the north would encourage the large numbers of sympathisers in the south and east to declare their loyalty and provide a core to attract those Scottish regiments which had defected to William back to the true King.
I have assumed significant Irish and French reinforcements have arrived in Scotland in line with the historical plans.
A condition of this would be that James had use the Lion Rampant as the Royal Standard, although he could use both the Lion Rampant and the combined arms* as his personal standards. Regiments under new colonels, including militia, would be reissued with new colonel’s colours.
Regimental colours would retain their old designs where feasible.
*the combined arms used would the Scottish version with the Lion Rampant in the 1st & 4th quarters.
French regiments on loan / hire to the King would retain their own colours.
Irish regiments fighting in Scotland under James would use a red St. Patrick’s cross on white with their original device or a harp with 'J R' as a reward for their loyalty.
English regiments remaining loyal to James would retain their own standards with the addition of 'J II R'
The Highland clans fight under their own standards, especially when grouped with other clans to bring them up to approx. battalion strength. Some clans still carry tattered old Saltires from earlier conflicts.
Barry Hilton (League of Augsberg, Warfare Miniatures) drew up the following scenario for Wargames Illustrated
"This scenario is based on the presumption that Bonnie Dundee not only won at Killiecrankie, July 27th 1689(which he did) but that he lived to tell the tale (which he didn’t). He drives the remnants of Mackay’s army out of Scotland and crushes Williamite resistance amongst the population of the cities. During a period of consolidation a sizeable force of Irish Jacobites is landed on the west coast of Scotland under Patrick Sarsfield and a French fleet runs the blockade to deposit a small but well trained brigade of infantry at Leith. Rebellion, which is of course contagious, breaks out all over England and King William enters a crisis period in which his largely continental army comes to be viewed more as foreign invaders than as liberators from absolutism. As the English Jacobites begin to emerge, many volunteer units and loyal regiments flock to the Stuart standard.
These enthusiastic but untrained bodies form the bulk of the English contingent.
Dundee marches south into England with his Highland army and on the way gathers many of these new volunteers as well as linking up with Sarsfield’s Irish and the French brigade."
This ‘alternative history’ which is the basis for my Scots Jacobite army of 1690 relies on three very simple twists of fate…
i) Viscount Dundee survived the Battle of Killiecrankie in 1689
ii) Dundee continued with the Royal army to Dunkeld and defeated the Cameronians.
iii) James overruled his advisors and reinforced Scotland in 1690 as he intended.
Historical:
Although James had not spent any significant period of time in Scotland he was well aware of the strategic potential of forcing William to fight on an additional front. With troops committed to England in a policing role, fighting in Ireland and obviously heavily engaged in Flanders any additional drain on his forces would have seriously weakened his position.
The other members of the Grand Alliance would have sued for peace on the removal of English troops from Flanders leaving William isolated against France.
In September / October 1688 James ordered units from the Irish Army to move to England in response to the perceived threat from the Dutch Republic. These units were:
one battalion of the Irish Guards, Anthony Hamilton's Regiment of Foot, Lord Forbes' Regiment of Foot and Butler's Dragoons
James had originally promised reinforcements to Scotland in April 1689, however the siege of Londonderry precluded their despatch.
These would have included the Earl of Antrim's, Cormac O'Neill's and Brig Gen Ramsey's (later the Lord Grand Prior's) regiments under Maj Gen Thomas Buchan.
A second wave of around 1,200 men was planned for May ’89 but the Williamites were waiting for them on Kintyre.
The only, slightly successful, attempt at sending troops to Scotland occurred in July ’89 when three French frigates sailed from Carrickfergus carrying Brig Gen Alexander Cannon, Col James Purcell's Regiment of Foot (400 raw recruits), part of Cannon's own regiment of dragoons and 79 unattached officers.
There is reference to both James Purcell's and Nicholas Purcell's dragoon regiments, both of which would have been operating dismounted.
Only one of the frigates made landfall, with the troops joining up with the MacPhersons before joining Dundee for Killiecrankie.
Although Tyrconnel vetoed most of James’ plans to significantly increase the effectiveness of the Jacobite forces in Scotland his ideas were potentially war-winning...
As the defenders in Derry outnumbered the attacking Jacobites by at least 50% it was proposed to merely blockade the city and move about 18,000 troops to Scotland (leaving some 32,000 in Ireland).
The appearance of experienced Irish and French troops in Scotland, along with badly needed cavalry, could have changed the outcome of the war and hence the history of these isles.
A major reason not being able to put these plans into practice was the dominance of the English Navy, built up by James himself...
Ironically, on the 28th June, 1690, two days before the Boyne (remember the Boyne was fought on the 1st July, old calendar) the French fleet heavily defeated the English off Beachy Head, leading to a week of panic in London.
With the seas now open to French transports and many leading Englishmen in contact with St. Germain, the initial welcome of the ‘revolution’ wearing thin and William in Ireland this would have been a perfect time to re-invade England!
The alternative story so far:
In late 1689 / early 1690 an Assembly of the highland Jacobite chiefs, lowland sympathisers and those leaders from Buchan, Angus and Gordon who had fought with John Graham, Viscount Dundee, along with His Grace and Major-General Buchan agreed that James should base himself in Scotland in the hope that having such a strong, loyal, foundation in the north would encourage the large numbers of sympathisers in the south and east to declare their loyalty and provide a core to attract those Scottish regiments which had defected to William back to the true King.
I have assumed significant Irish and French reinforcements have arrived in Scotland in line with the historical plans.
A condition of this would be that James had use the Lion Rampant as the Royal Standard, although he could use both the Lion Rampant and the combined arms* as his personal standards. Regiments under new colonels, including militia, would be reissued with new colonel’s colours.
Regimental colours would retain their old designs where feasible.
*the combined arms used would the Scottish version with the Lion Rampant in the 1st & 4th quarters.
French regiments on loan / hire to the King would retain their own colours.
Irish regiments fighting in Scotland under James would use a red St. Patrick’s cross on white with their original device or a harp with 'J R' as a reward for their loyalty.
English regiments remaining loyal to James would retain their own standards with the addition of 'J II R'
The Highland clans fight under their own standards, especially when grouped with other clans to bring them up to approx. battalion strength. Some clans still carry tattered old Saltires from earlier conflicts.
Barry Hilton (League of Augsberg, Warfare Miniatures) drew up the following scenario for Wargames Illustrated
"This scenario is based on the presumption that Bonnie Dundee not only won at Killiecrankie, July 27th 1689(which he did) but that he lived to tell the tale (which he didn’t). He drives the remnants of Mackay’s army out of Scotland and crushes Williamite resistance amongst the population of the cities. During a period of consolidation a sizeable force of Irish Jacobites is landed on the west coast of Scotland under Patrick Sarsfield and a French fleet runs the blockade to deposit a small but well trained brigade of infantry at Leith. Rebellion, which is of course contagious, breaks out all over England and King William enters a crisis period in which his largely continental army comes to be viewed more as foreign invaders than as liberators from absolutism. As the English Jacobites begin to emerge, many volunteer units and loyal regiments flock to the Stuart standard.
These enthusiastic but untrained bodies form the bulk of the English contingent.
Dundee marches south into England with his Highland army and on the way gathers many of these new volunteers as well as linking up with Sarsfield’s Irish and the French brigade."