Ossian Collection > History of the Highlands and of the Highland clans > Volume 1

RISING UNDER THE MARCiUIS OF HUNTLY. 333
trose, immediately collected a considerable body of horse and foot, con-
sisting of Highlanders and lowlanders, at Kincardine-O'Neil, with the in-
tention of crossing the Cairn-a-Mount ; but being disappointed in not
being joined by some forces from Perthshire, Angus, and the Mearns,
which he expected, he altered his steps, and proceeded towards Aberdeen,
which he took. From t'henee he dispatched parties of his troops through
the shires of Aberdeen and Banff, wlio brought in quantities of horses and
arms for the use of his army- Another party, consisting of one hundred
and twenty horse and three hundred foot, commanded by the young laird
of Drum and his brother, young Gicht, Colonel Nathaniel Gordon and
Colonel Donald Farquharson and others, proceeded, contrary to the
opinion of the marquis, to the town of Montrose, which they took, killed
one of the bailies, made the provost prisoner, and threw some cannon
into the sea as they could not carry them away. But, on hearing that
the earl of Kinghorn was advancing upon them with the forces of
Angus, they made a speedy retreat, leaving thirty of their foot behind
them prisoners. To protect themselves against the army of the niarquis
of Huntly, the inhabitants of Moray on the north of the Spey, raised a
regiment of fiiot and three companies of horse, which were quartered in
the town of Elgin.
When the convention heard of the marquis of Huntly's movements,
they appointed the m.arquis of Argyle to raise an army to quell this in-
surrection. He, accordingly, assembled at Perth, a force of five thou-
sand foot and eight hundred horse out of Fife, Angus, Mearns, Argyle
and the shire of Perth, with which he advanced on Aberdeen. Huntly,
hearing of his approach, fled from Aberdeen and retired to the town of
Banff, where, on the day of his arrival, he disbanded his army. The
marquis himself thereafter retired to Strathnaver, and took up his resi-
dence with the master of Reay. Argyle, after taking possession of
Aberdeen, proceeded northward and took the castles of Gicht and
Kellie, made the lairds of Gicht and Haddo prisoners and sent them
to Edinburgh, the latter of whom, along with one Captain Logan, was
afterwards beheaded.*
We now return to Montrose, who, after an ineffectual attempt to
obtain an accession of force from the army of Prince Rupert, Count
Palatine of the Rhine, determined on again entering Scotland with his
little band. But being desirous to learn the exact situation of affairs
there, before putting this resolution into effects he sent Lord Ogilvy and
Sir William Rollock into Scotland, in disguise, for that purpose. They
returned in about fourteen days, and brought a spiritless and melancholy
account of the state of matters in the north, where they found the whole
passes, towns, and forts, in possession of the covenanters, and where no
man dared to speak in favour of the king. This intelligence was re
ceivrd w ith dismay by Montrose's followers, who now began to think of the
> Gordon of Sallagh, p. 519.