The Presbyterians in Scotland following the Restoration…
June 1679 CE
The Presbyterians in Scotland following the Restoration of King Charles II thave been increasingly persecuted for their beliefs, and in 1666 a small armed rising had had to be put down.
Some Presbyterian ministers have been "Indulged" by the government from 1669, allowing them to retain their churches without having to accept Episcopacy, but the more hard-line elements continue to hold illegal outdoor meetings, known as conventicles.
These are often broken up by squads of government dragoons, including those led by John Graham of Claverhouse.
The Covenanters are on the verge of open rebellion following the assassination of Archbishop James Sharp on Magus Muir and the Declaration of Rutherglen.
A large conventicle is planned to take place at Loudoun Hill, on the boundary of Ayrshire and Lanarkshire, in defiance of government persecution of the Covenanters.
The Reverend Thomas Douglas on the morning of Sunday, June 1, allegedly breaks off his sermon with the words "Ye have got the theory, now for the practice", when it is reported that the dragoons of Claverhouse are heading to the area.
Claverhouse, better known to his enemies as 'Bluidy Clavers', had recently been appointed captain, with a mission to disperse conventicles in south west Scotland.
A group of around two hundred armed Covenanters moves east, to a boggy moor near the farm of High Drumclog.
With about forty mounted men, and armed with muskets and pitchforks, the Covenanter force is no rabble.
Commanded by Robert Hamilton, the army takes up a strong position behind a bog, or 'stank'.
Claverhouse's force arrives, but are unable to engage the enemy directly due to the ground conditions.
For some time groups of skirmishers exchange ire across the stank, and Claverhouse feels he is gaining the upper hand.
However, he is still unable to get his troops close to the Covenanters without becoming bogged down.
At this point, the Covenanters decide to press the attack.
William Cleland leads a force around the stank, and advances rapidly.
Despite heavy fire from the government troops, the attack is entirely successful.
The line of Claverhouse's force breaks, and the dragoons are soon routed from the battlefield, leaving thirty-six dead.