Colonel Gilbert
Kennedy of Ardmillan
By Iain Kennedy Copyright © 2007
Latest update November 22nd,
2007; Ormonde Papers extracts; October 20th, 2007 (added Stuart Reid’s analysis
of Kennedy commanders at Alford and Kilsyth, including Baillie’s first hand
account; Oct 14th - extract from Furgol’s History of the Covenanting Armies;
Oct 13th - added first-hand accounts of Marston Moor; also a comparison of the
Scottish and Irish ‘Fasti’)
Original skeleton article
written October 3rd, 2007
The author acknowledges the kind assistance of the Crawfords of Ardmillan, James Brown of Baltersan and Glasgow University Archives in writing this article.
Ardmillan Castle is just a caravan
park now – but did Gilbert Kennedy once live here?
Introduction
In this article I will examine the case for the existence
of a historical link from the family of the Earls of Cassillis in Ayrshire to a
family of ministers in Ulster, and hence to Bucks Co. Pennsylvania. The key
individual in this study has been described in sources such as the ‘Irish
Fasti' [S1] as Colonel Gilbert Kennedy of Ardmillan, brother to John Kennedy,
6th Earl of Cassillis. I will examine each element of this title, whether or
not this gentleman fought at Marston Moor as claimed, and also discuss his
parentage since this is in doubt too.
The parentage of Gilbert and John Kennedy, 6th Earl of
Cassillis (revised 19.10.07)
Whilst researching the brother of the 6th Earl, it is impossible
to overlook another problem - the dispute over whether he was the son of
Gilbert, Master of Cassillis or Hew, Master of Cassillis.
Rather than requote from a variety of peerages, it may be
more useful to consult the family pedigrees for one good reason; in a dispute
over the Earl's title in 1760 the case was taken to the House of Lords and both
claimants were required to provide full proofs. In fact the dispute was not
over the genealogy which both agreed upon, but on the matter of whether the title
was legally required to pass only along the male line or through all heirs. The
pedigrees submitted clearly show that Gilbert, the second son of Gilbert 4th
Earl of Cassillis had issue, John later 6th Earl, after John, 5th Earl,
eldest son of Gilbert 4th Earl died without issue. We know that there was a
third brother Hew who was at one stage Master of Cassillis as reference is made
to him in documents of the time [P8]. In this earlier version of the pedigree,
this Hew is considered to have died without issue, and is said to have resided
at Brunston Castle (outside the village of Dailly). This account is shown in
the Douglas/Wood Peerage of 1813 [S14].
Somewhere along the line this account was modified and by
the time of Balfor Paul's Scots Peerage in 1905 [S15] John 6th Earl was shown
as the son of Hew Kennedy, Master of Cassillis. McDowall ignored this and went
with the old pedigree in his hugely detailed Kennedy genealogy charts; Moss
[S12], writing more recently, appears to prefer the later account.
Unfortunately the key documents - the proofs of the title
- don't aid this matter since John 6E was served heir to an uncle to get the
title. Since his father, whoever he was, was never the Earl, there are less
records to go on. Although the wills of the 4th, 6th and 7th Earls are in
evidence, I have not managed to locate the will of the 5th Earl or either
Gilbert or Hew, the two possible fathers of the 6th.
The proofs for John, 6th Earl were
1.Retour as heir male of Earl John his
uncle 21st Jan 1623
2.Retour as heir male of Earl Gilbert his grandfather
25th Jan 1623
However, a number of legal documents appear to back up
the second version of the tree. Scots Peerage quotes the Register of Deeds –
incorrectly vol xciv 21 Dec 1601 when vol. Xciv covers 1603 – and none of the
three Calendar of Deeds volumes which actually cover 1601 (v81/2, v83 & v84
– the former is badly damaged) seem to have the described marriage contract of
Hew Kennedy. In GD25 exists a document 13 Dec 1634 ‘Extract Registered Renunciation
by John, Earl of Cassillis, to be heir, or to enter heir in general or special,
to Hew, Master of Cassillis, his father’. However note an interesting footnote
from the Scots Peerage ii p478 which goes to show how easy it is to go wrong
here: ‘in the printed RMS 6 Mar 1618 the fifth Earl is wrongly referred to as
father of the sixth owing to a misprint of patris for patrui of
the original record’. Just two letters difference is all it takes!
Did John, 6th Earl of Cassillis, have
a brother called Gilbert?
This issue is resolved after consulting the archives of Glasgow University. Original manuscripts record the entry of every student since 1575, and these exist in hard copy in a series of volumes ‘Munimenta Glasguensis Alme Universitatis’. Consulting this volume we find the following entry (these were recorded in manuscript in the student’s own hand):
‘Tertio Idus Martii 1617
Praesentibus reverendo praesule domino Archiepiscopo Glasguensi Academiae hujus Cancellario, clarissimis item viris Domino Rectore, Facultatis Decano, Ecclesiae Glasguensis Pastoribus, Scholae Publicae Moderatore, aliisque Academiae hujus membris ad Rectorem creandum solenni more congregatis, Academiae sacramentum praestiterunt adolescentes hi sequentes:
1. Gilbertus Kennedy Comitis Cassilissae frater unicus’
This settles this issue immediately since in 1617 John Kennedy was 6th Earl of Cassillis, and the above tells us that he had an only brother Gilbert (at that time). The section his entry appears in is for matriculations; I am now advised by the Glasgow University archivist (4th October 2007) that he is most likely to have been between 12 and 14 years of age when matriculating.
Did Gilbert Kennedy have the title Colonel and
fight at Marston Moor?
I have consulted several leading histories of the
Civil War and Covenanting Wars, including the work by Peter Young [S16] which
appears to be the most thorough. Although much is from contemporary sources,
the composition of the regiments appears to have come from ‘Army of the
Covenant’ by Terry [S8]. The key extracts are as follows:
Kyle and Carrick Regiment
Colonel
1644
Earl of Casillis ([1] John, 6th Earl d 1668)
Lt-col
1644
John Kennedy
Major
1644
Archibald Houston [2] [4]
Lt
1644
John
Mitchell
Hugh
Crawford
John
Kennedy
1645
John Campbell
Captain
1644
David Hume
David
Kennedy
Walter
Dunbar
John
Cunningham
Thomas
Kennedy
1646
William Wallace
Ensign
1644
John Taylor, Robert Chalmers
1645
James Campbell
Qtrmastrer
1644
Young
Scrivener
1644
Gilbert Neilson
Chaplain
1645 Patrick
Colviell
The
regiment was engaged at Marston Moor and the sieges of York and Newcastle 1644;
and also at Alford [3]
[2]
d sept 1646
[3]
Acts vol vi part i p469
[4]
p xxiv 'according to Rushworth these officers [ie Houston in this case] already
had experience of Continental warfare'
Terry
and Furgol [S7] also explain that all the Colonels in the Scots army were
selected from the nobility. In fact Cassillis himself was one of the leading
Covenanters. There is an index to all individuals at Captain or above rank and
there is no Gilbert Kennedy listed.
Furgol’s
summary is:
Kyle and Carrick Foot
Col:
6E
Lt.
Col. John Kennedy [ Fergusson quoting Aberdeen Council Letters [P2] says John
Kennedy of Knockdaw]
Maj.
Archibald Houston
ministers
Alex Turnbull, Patrick Colville
comissioned
Aug 1643
disbanded
9 Feb 1647
The above regiment was raised for the Army of the
Solemn League and Covenant; separate regiments were raised by Cassillis for the
First and Second Bishops War and the later Army of the Covenant but they are
outside the timeframe for Marston and Alford. However the command structure
remained as Cassillis as Colonel in all four, with no Gilbert Kennedy listed.
Note also that Cassillis did not raise soldiers to go to Ireland with Leslie
and Munro; it was with these men that the Rev. Thomas Kennedy son of Gilbert
Kennedy, our subject, was first supposed to have gone to Ireland although I
have not found a reference to this in any sources described in this article.
(It was also the route by which Cornet John Kennedy is supposed to have come to
Ireland to found one prominent Kennedy family there, unfortunately Cornet is
too low a rank to be listed in the works I have consulted). S20 is an excellent
resource on the Scots Army in Ireland under Munro/Leven, but the only Kennedys
mentioned in it are Cassillis and Hew Kennedy burgess of Ayr who the Scots
appointed as muster master in 1642.
However, just as I was about to give up I noticed
Fergusson’s discussion [S19]. Following up with [P2] and [P4] I found this
extraordinary contemporary account:
‘On the
2d July, 1645, the battle of Alford was foughten betuixt the Marquis of
Montrose and General Major Baillie, when Baillie lost the battell with ane
great slaughter. The most pairt of the foot was killed. Ther leader was
brother to the Earle of Ca'silis, ane man of huge stature, the Lord of
Balcarras being leader of the horse. On Montrose syde was killed Lord George
Gordon, eldest son to the Marquis of Huntley, the Laird of Buchollie, the laird
of Miltoune, of Keith, with some others of good qualitie.’
The
exact authorship of this account is unclear but the editors of the Grampian
Club 1877 edition consider it to be contemporary. And since we earlier
established that in 1617 Gilbert was the only surviving brother of John the
Earl, this can only be him. Does it make him a Colonel? This is not clear, the
earlier sources clearly give Cassillis as Colonel to his own regiment. It is
possible Gilbert was Colonel at the battle although it seems strange no-one
else has picked up on this. Not long after Alford the Covenanters were routed
again at Kilsyth and sources tell that Cassillis himself had to flee to Ireland
so we must assume he was leading at this last battle.
My recent conclusions, as detailed in Appendix 2, are
that this reference to the Earl’s brother is a muddled reference to Kennedy of
Knockdaw. I am not alone in this conclusion, as shown by a book by Stuart Reid
‘The Campaigns of Montrose’ [S21] I bought today (October 20th
2007):
The Battle of Alford, p131
‘With Baillie’s cavalry routed, Montrose ordered his
reserve forward, and the rebel main battle closed with the government centre
commanded by Baillie himself and Lieutenant Colonel John Kennedy of
Cassillis’ regiment [20]. … Baillie’s army was substantially destroyed. The
infantry suffered terribly; only 100 each of Cassillis’ and Glencairn’s men
survived to fight at Kilsyth a month and a half later.
[20] True Rehearsall, p61. He is mistakenly identified as Cassilis’ brother, but the unknown author also picturesquely notes that he was ‘ane man of huge stature’’. (See my reference [P4]).
This of course is not primary proof, but interestingly
Reid has dug up this mention of Kennedy at Kilsyth straight from the pen of
Baillie:
‘The present officers whom I remember were Home, his
Lieutenant Colonel and Major of the Marquess’s regiment, Lieutenant Colonel
Campbell, and Major Menzies, Glencairne’s sergeant Major, and Cassills’s
Lieutenant Colonell with sundry others who behaved themselves well, and
whom I saw none carefull to save themselves before the routing of the
regiments’. So Baillie, recalling the fighting, can remember John Kennedy of
Knokdaw alone out of the Cassillis regiment. Presumably it is due to this that
leads Reid to say ‘this battalion was probably commanded by Lieutenant Colonel
John Kennedy of Cassillis’ regiment’ in his introduction to the battle.
In summary, so far we have
- No mention of Gilbert at Marston Moor
- One account of him at Alford in a leading role, not confirmed by
other writers and questionable as to identification
- Accounts of Kennedy of Knokdaw commanding at Aberdeen, Alford and
Kilsyth
Did Gilbert Kennedy own or live at Ardmillan Castle?
I have so far found no primary source reference to a Gilbert Kennedy of Ardmillan. During the mid 1650s when the Ardmillan estates were changing hands, mostly to the Crawfords, there were
Hew Kennedy of Ardmillan (spouse Margaret Crawford);
Thomas Kennedy younger of Ardmillan (‘his eldest son and lawful heir’); Hew
Kennedy ‘son of Ardmillan’ or ‘third son of Hugh Kennedy of Ardmillan’;
These three men are recorded several times in charters
etc in [P8] and [P9]. Although the name of the middle son is missing, I am
advised by the Crawfords that his name was David. Nor do the Crawford private
papers studied so far mention a Gilbert Kennedy.
Still we have another tricky problem to deal with –
what would the Earl’s brother be doing at Ardmillan? Put another way, what was
the connection between the houses of Ardmillan and Cassillis? Working these
relationships out with original documents is a long hard task which is in
progress. In the meantime we can refer to what respected Kennedy historians
have made of the question in the past.
Paterson [S15] says in his first edition ‘we have not been fortunate enough to trace the origin of the Kennedies of Ardmillan upon documentary evidence but there is reason to believe they are of the house of Bargany’. However in an Appendix now appearing as pp248a-j he describes a land title dated 1476 from Bargany to his ‘weil belovyt brother’ John Kennedy in Ardmillane.
McDowall [S9] is clearer in his thoughts, namely
that Ardmillan was a junior branch of the house of Bargany. According to his
genealogical chart, the first Kennedy of Ardmillan was John, son of the first
Kennedy of Bargany, and he achieved his title as early as 1476. The source
reference for this title is not given but is presumably the one of that date that
the earlier Paterson referred to.
If the two historians are confirmed as correct,
a descendant of this line would be a somewhat distant cousin of whoever was
Earl of Cassillis at the time – and only a half-cousin at that since Bargany
and Cassillis descend from different matriarchs. Since we have already
established above that the Ardmillan Kennedies still held their lands in the
1650s, some time after the Rev. Thomas and Gilbert Kennedy graduated from
Glasgow University, and since no Gilbert Kennedy has ever been recorded at the
house of Ardmillan, it seems highly unlikely that the brother of the Earl could
have been ‘of Ardmillan’. Moreover, this should have been apparent to anyone
writing a biography of the Reverends, if they did a small amount of research
into the Scottish Kennedys. Therefore I find the designation ‘Gilbert Kennedy
of Ardmillan, brother to the Earl of Cassillis’ as not just suspect in itself,
but indicative of poor research and knowledge of the Kennedys. What were the
authors of the Irish Fasti thinking of?
Was Gilbert Kennedy the father of Rev. Gilbert
Kennedy of Girvan, later Dundonald, Co. Antrim?
I have found no information on this at all so far but
will be turning to this next as most of the other points are settled.
Scottish v Irish Fasti
Since one of the main sources linking the Tyrone
Kennedys to the Cassillis family is the Irish Fasti, and since this claim did
not appear in the Scottish Fasti, I will now examine both entries along with
their references, as well as some background to the works. The volumes are
relatively easy to view but for those unable to access them, I now reproduce
the key entries. In each case I give the main biographical account; typically a
minister appears several times as he moves ministry, as the works are organised
by synod, presbytery and parish; the first time he appears he gets a full
biography where known, and later the references simply detail when he moved to
the parish in question. All entries for these individuals have been studied.
Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae
The Scottish volumes start from
the Reformation. The version most often seen is the ‘New Edition’ printed in
1915. The original work by Hew Scott (1791-1872) came out in 1866 and I have
not viewed it yet. A subsequent volume ‘Fasti Ecclesiae Scotticanae
Medii Aevi Ad Annum 1638’ [S2a]
covers pre-Reformation Scotland. The sub-editor of the New Edition was the Lyon
Clerk, and the editorial committee included Lord Lyon King of Arms himself, Sir
James Balfour Paul, who had also authored
the Scots Peerage [S14]. This means that Scotland’s foremost genealogist
oversaw two works, one of which states that the noble Gilbert Kennedy
disappears from records without trace, the other describing a Gilbert Kennedy
minister in Girvan, ancestry unknown.
FES Vol. 3 (Synods of Glasgow
and Ayr), New Edition, Hew Scott, 1915
‘Rev. Gilbert Kennedy
1651 Girvan, of old Invergarvan
brother of Thomas Kennedy
minister of Donoughmore or Carlan, Co. Tyrone
MA Glasgow 1647
adm. 26 Nov 1651
deprived by act of Parliament
11th Jun
decree Privy Council 1 Oct 1662
in 1679 accused of keeping
conventicles and afterwards went to Ireland and had charge of congregation at
Dundonald. d 6 Feb 1688 at age 61
he married a lady whose name is
not recorded and had issue Gilbert minister of Donaclony d 8 Jul 1745
Refs:
Wodrows History i 327 [see my
reference S6]
Linlithgow Presb Reg.
Reid's Ireland ii 401 [see my
reference S5]
GR Hornings 29th Jan 1653’
FES Vol. 7 formerly minister of
Girvan (cf vol 3) minister at Dundonald Ireland 1673; died 6 Feb 1688. His
daughter Catherine married 15 May 1702 William Tennent minister at Neshaminy,
Penn. USA and founder of the famous Log College and Father of Presbyterian
Colleges in American; she died 7 May 1753 aged 70’
Note that the authors have
helpfully listed no less than four references for Gilbert’s entry. Of these I
have identified and studied two as indicated above. However I am slightly less
interested in the sources for the Scottish Fasti since it is not they who are
making the claim we are investigating; what we are trying to identify is why
the authors of the Irish equivalent enhanced the biography.
FES vol. 2 p342:
Rev. Thomas Kennedy
MA Glasg 1643
Licen. presb Stranraer 3 Dec 1651
ad bef Dec 28 1654; deprived act Parl 11 Jun dec priv co 1 Oct 1662
not immed obeying he was ordered
24 feb 1663 to leave within a month . he went to Ireland and had charge of a
congregation at newtonards
refs:
Wodrows Hist i 327; Reids
Ireland ii; Bannatyne Miscl ii
FES vol. 3 MA Glasgow 1643 ord.
to a Presbyterian congregation at Donoughmore or Dungannon, Ireland, before
1661; was present at Presb of Glasgow 10 Jun 1689; called 3rd July 1689 [to St
Mungos Presb of Glasgow] officiating in either Inner High or Tron Church. He returned to Ireland in 1693 and was
settled at Carlan.
FES vol. 7 p 531 min. at Lewwalt
in 1654; deprived in 1662 and went to Ireland; min at Carland Co Tyrone about
1662, and of Newtonards before 1671; fled to Scotland at the Revolution;
returned to Carland in 1693; died 9 Feb 1716 aged 89 see Latimer's Hist of
Irish Presbyterians, 134, 292
Fasti of the Irish Presbyterian Church 1613-1840
Rev
James McConnell BA revised by his son Rev. Samuel G McConnell BA
Presbyterian
Historical Society, Church House Belfast
The printed edition was
published in 1951 but much of it had already been published in a series in a
magazine – the section dealing with Thomas Kenndy was first published in 1937.
#171 p70
‘Gilbert Kennedy
2nd s. of Col. Gilbert Kennedy,
Ardmillan, Ayrshire and nephew of John, 6th Earl of C. bro. of rev. Thos. K,
Carland; b 1627; educ. Glasgow MA (Glas) 1647; ord. Girvan 26 nov 1651; mar.
Miss Mongtomery, gt. grand-dau. of 6th Earl and 1st Marquis of Huntly; deposed for
non-conformity, 1662; came to Ireland cic. 1668; ins. Dundonald and Holywood,
1670; accused of keeping conventicles at Girvan 1679, with Rev. John Welsh,
Irongray, who stated that the present Solemnity was appointed to restore Mr.
Kennedy, the Non-Conformist to his cure at Girvan. Died 6 feb 1688; int. at
Dundonald
Rev. Gilbert K MA Tullylish was
a son, and the Rev. Wm Tennant, Neshaniny (1726-) was a son-in-law; having mr.
his dau. Catherine.
refs. Scott's Fasti, iii,41,vii
531; Christian Unitarian 1866 p359n; Reid ii 318n; Ormonde Papers iv 69’
Again we have four helpful
references. One is Reid again and one, intriguingly, is Scott’s Scottish Fasti!
So we can safely eliminate them from our enquiries as I have already examined
them.
Update November 22nd, 2007. I
have finally got around to consulting the ‘Ormonde Papers’ with a bit of help
from the staff of the National Library of Ireland to clarify exactly what this
referred to, then a consultation in the Manuscripts room at the National
Library of Scotland (and not, note, upstairs which is where the shelfmark
predicted them to be – they’ve been moved and not all the staff realise this!).
The full title of the reference is
‘Calendar
of the manuscripts of the Marquess of Ormonde ... preserved at Kilkenny Castle’
by the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, published by Eyre and
Spottiswoode for HM Stationery Office 1895-1920.
Both
Thomas and Gilbert Kennedy are mentioned. The reference to Gilbert Kennedy is
in volume iv p69 as indicated in the Irish Fasti and can be read here. So our third Irish Fasti reference joins
the other two in not giving any proof of a connection to the Cassillis family.
#81
Thomas Kennedy
eld.
s. of Col. Gilbert Kennedy, Ardmillan, Ayrshire, and neph. of John, 6th Earl of
Cassillis; bro. of Rev. Gilbert Kennedy, Dundonald
b
1625; educ. Glas 1637 MA 1643
inst.
Donaghmore (Carland) Co. Tyrone 1646; dep. for non-conformity, 1661; continued
to preach in a log house and was imprisoned for doing so for some years; mar.
dau. of Capt. O'Brien of Bawn; officiated in Glasgow 1689-93; ret. to Carland
and built church; Modr. of G.S 1696; died 9 Feb 1716 aged 89.
Rev.
John Kennedy, Benburb (1714061) and Rev. Thomas Kennedy, Ballyclug (1700-46),
were sons, and Rev. And. Turner, Erskine (1692-1704) a son-in-law.
reff.
Leslie, p230; Stewart, MS Hist. of Carland; Patterson, Hist of Ayr ii 281;
Scott, Fasti, ii 343; iii 454
Yet another four references. Patterson
(Paterson) is a well known and respected historian of Ayrshire and the Kennedys
and I have his works at home. He certainly draws no such links between Tyrone
and Cassillis. The Stewart MS about Carland is at the Linen Hall Library in
Belfast and I have examined it. It doesn’t make the claim either, although
stuck in the back are some newspaper articles from the 300th anniversary of
Carland congregation where the journalists do. According to my notes I
determined that ‘Leslie’ refers to a work called ‘Armagh : Loyalty of
Presbyterians’ but I haven’t managed to locate such a work yet.
Note further that the above
Thomas Kennedy also appears in a lengthy note in the Corrigenda and Addenda in
the front of the book. Referenced is another work by Leslie [?] making me
wonder if the earlier Leslie reference is wrong. It was obtained by working
backwards through the entries to the first biographical note that mentioned the
author so I assume it was the intended one. The corrigenda note isn’t
particularly relevant but for completeness here it is:
‘#81 Leslie's Armagh clergy list states
that Thomas Kennedy was Commonwealth minister of the parish of Donoughmore in
1646; he gives Commonwealth Papers as his authority. But CharlesI was alive
till 1649 and the Common. W. was subsequent to his execution; a tablet in
Carland Pres. Ch. also gives 1646 as the date of Mr. Kennedy's settlement.
The
following quotation from the Commonwealth Papers very probably refers to this
minister as there is no other Kennedy mentioned in the list of commonwealth
ministers save Rev. Anthony Kennedy who was long settled in Templepatrick.
"considering
the petition of the inhabitants of Loughgall, Co. Armagh, for Mr Kennedy and a
report from the Committee for settling the maintenance of ministers, from which
it appears that Humphrey Pettard (having bee appointed by the committee for
approbation of ministers) was appointed to preach there. The council stated
Pettard should remain where he is and that Kennedy (on the approbation of the
committee) should be settled elsewhere" ref A/15 f/.70 31 Dec 1658’
Appendix 1. Peter Young: first-hand accounts of Marston Moor
In section four of his book, Young reproduces many first hand
accounts of the battle of Marston Moor in full – accounts from Royalists,
Parliamentarians and Scots. Of these only one mentions Cassillis, not
surprisingly it is the account of Sir James Lumsden, in overall command of the
Scots infantry including the Kyle and Carrick (Cassillis) regiment. He made a
major contribution to our knowledge of the battle by sketching a battleground
layout of both forces, and a letter of his survives describing the battle. Here
is a short extract of interest:
Letter
from Maj-Gen Sir James Lumsden to Lord Loudoun
‘...
They that faucht stood extraordinarie weill to it; whereof my Lord Lyndsay, his
brigad commandit by himself, was one. These brigads that failyied on the vanne
wer presently supplied by Cassilis, Kilheid, Cowper, Dumfermling and
some of Cliddisdaills regiment who wer on the battel, and gained what they had
lost, and maid themselffs masters of the cannon was nixt to them, and tooke Sir
Charles Lucas, Leivetenant Generall of their horss, prisoner.
...
Livetennant Generall Baillie commandit the vanne of ours under him and Fairfax
and Manchesters of their own.’
That
second sentence is of somewhat clumsy construction – here is Young’s
paraphrased version from earlier in the book:
'that
is to say, Lumsden deployed most of the two centre brigades of the second line
to fill the gap torn by Blakiston.'
Appendix 2. Extract from Furgol’s ‘Regimental History of the Covenanting Armies’ [S7], pp152-3
Furgol’s references appear at the end. I have
marked two parts in bold as of particular interest, although I haven’t tracked
back to the original sources to verify it yet.
Kyle
and Carrick Foot
For
command structure, see earlier. [102].
The
earl of Cassillis was commissioned the colonel of the central and southern
Ayrshire forces in August 1643. This area raised ten companies which were at
Dalkeith on 14 January 1644. The Kyle and Carrick entered England as part of
Leven’s army five days later. In early 1644 it heavily burdened Henry Hinde of
The Stelling, Bywell Peter, Northumberland. The regiment took thirty-one cattle
worth £46 10s, sixty sheep worth £15, five swine costing £1 5s, forty foother
of hay valued at £20, three horses at £6, a bible worth 13s and other goods
amounting in total to £215 5s. Major Houston received £3 8s in cess and
billeting. The Kyle and Carrick Foot served with Leven up to the siege of York
and Marston Moor. At the latter it was one of the three second-line Scottish
infantry regiments which held its ground. The regiment was brigaded with the
Nithsdale foot with which it cleared the royalist foot placed in a ditch in
front of the allied line. After Marston Moor and the fall of York the Kyle and
Carrick returned to the Newcastle vicinity to take part in the siege. On 24
August the garrison made a successful sortie against the portion of the
siege-works held by this unit and the Nithsdale Foot. The royalists forced the
Scots to flee, because the Covenanting officers were absent. The regiment went
to Scotland shortly thereafter to serve under Lt. General Baillie. It stayed in
Aberdeen for ten days in September, when there were 700 men in the unit. On 19
October the Kyle and Carrick Foot formed part of the 3rd Brigade, whose target
was the Pilgrim Street Gate-Cariol Tower area. Cassillis personally led about
seven companies of the regiment in the storming operation. Although the
Kyle and Carrick probably spent some of the winter 1644-45 in England, it
returned to Scotland before the spring arrived [103].
From
spring 1645 until it disbanded this regiment served as part of the home army.
In late March Cassillis and his men were with Baillie near Brechin. On 2 and 3
April the 800 men of the regiment quartered in Perth. A party of 160 commanded
men returned to the burgh on the 4th. They may have taken part in the pursuit
of Montrose from Dundee on 5 April. From 14 June (Saturday) in the evening
to the 18th at 2pm Lieutenant-Colonel Kennedy* was in command of 700 men of the
Kyle and Carrick in Aberdeen. They cost the burgh £560. Before then the
regiment probably formed part of Baillie’s army. The Kyle and Carrick was
certainly with Baillie after the 18th, if it had not been beforehand. On 2 July
the regiment was badly mauled at Alford.
The
officers later joined in a petition with those of other regiments for replacement
of baggage, clothing and necessities lost at battle. On 1 August the Estates
decided to recruit the regiment back to full strength. Wigtonshire and the
Stewartry of Kirkcudbright received orders to levy 600 foot; Ayrshire and
Renfrewshire were assessed 200 foot. Due to Montrose’s victory at Kilsyth two
weeks later, it is doubtful that any of these reinforcements reached the
regiment. The whereabouts of th regiment for six months is not known. However,
in November 1645 it was assigned several hundred recruits from Galloway. In
February 1646 it was serving under Middleton in the northeast. Some men took
grain worth 23s. from a tenant in Turriff. It may be assumed that the Kyle and
Carrick served under Middleton in his campaigns against Montrose. The regiment
is found quartered in Glasgow on 18 December. Due to the plague, on 14 January
1647 the Estates ordered the regiment to be quartered in barns and outbuildings
of Glasgow. It was to muster its men every ten days and not to lift cess or
live on free quarter but on the money provided. On 4 February the
unsatisfactory state of these arrangements comes to light through a petition of
the regimental officers for £2000 owed them by the burgh of Glasgow (this was
paid on 20 February). On the 5th the Estates ordered the regiment to disband on
9 February. That day all, save fifty foot which were retained for the General
of the Artillery’s Foot in the New Model Army, were disbanded [104].
*as discussed
earlier, this is believed to be Kennedy of Knockdaw. It is very interesting
that Furgol places Lieutenant-Colonel John Kennedy of Knockdaw in charge of a
large company of Foot at Aberdeen just a fortnight before the source discussed
earlier claims the Earl’s brother was leading the Foot at Alford, particularly
since Aberdeen and Alford are a significant journey away from the homes of the
gentlemen concerned. Is it possible these two men were one and the same and
gave rise to the legend of ‘Colonel Kennedy’? Let us recap something else
Furgol tells his readers about how the upper commands were filled:
‘The backbone of all
these armies was the foot or infantry regiment. These units were commanded by a
Colonel who had a Lieutenant-Colonel, Major etc under him. Each company had a
Captain (the Colonel's company a Lt-Captain). In the Army of the Solemn League
and Covenant nobles continued to dominate as Colonels but some were replaced by
professionals. The Tables ruled that Lt-Cols and Majors be professional
soldiers.’
Furgol reference list
102. Army of the
Covenant, i 179. Fasti, ii 340
103. This regiment may
have fought at Hilton. SRO, PA 11.2, 9v; Army of the Covenant, i xxxiii; Ibid.,
ii 595; ‘Hinde Papers’, 132-3; List of Regiments; Stewart, Full Relation, 5;
Terry, Leslie, 246,299,326; Young, Marston Moor, map between 144-5.
104. SRO,PA 11.4,158,
161v; PA 16.4,7; Aberdeen Letters, iii 23,45,87; APS, VI,i
449,469,634,655,681,686; Chronicle of Perth, 41-2; Glasgow, 113, 512; Cowan,
Montrose, 195
Appendix 3. Peter Young bibliography for Marston Moor
Young’s work gives the
impression of total thoroughness – as indicated by Rogers in the introduction
to his ‘Battles and Generals of the Civil War’ [S17] when he says:
‘nobody
can write a book on the English civil war without acknowledging the debt he
owes to Brig. Peter Young for the painstaking research which he has devoted to
it over so many years.’ Since I can’t promise to follow up all Young’s
references, other than the aforementioned accounts he reproduces in the book
itself, I am including his bibliography here in case anyone else is enthused
enough to take up the trail.
George, first Duke of
Albermarle: Observations upon military and political affairs 1671
A list of officers claiming to
the sixty thousand pounds &c granted by his sacred Majesty for the relief
of his truly loyal and indigent party 1663
Allied Generals Dispatch, 5th
July
Simeon Ashe: A true relation of
the late fight between the Parliamentary Forces and Prince Rupert
Colonel Joseph Blamfield:
Apologie, The Hague, 1685
William Barriffe: Militarie
Discipline: or the young artillery-man, 3rd edition, 1643
Thomas Blount: The art of making
devises, 1650
Lt. Col. A. Burne and Lt. Col.
Peter Young: The great civil war, a military history of the first civil war
1642-1646 (1959)
CAM: Calendar of the proceedings
of the Committee for the advance of money, 1642-1656
CCC: Callendar of the
proceedings of the Committee for compounding &c, 1643-1660
CSPD: Calendar of State Papers,
Domestic, 1644
Earl of Clarendon: The History
of the rebellion and civil wars in England, Oxford, 1888
Captain Robert Clarke: letter to
Captain Bartlett
John Cruso: Militarie
Instructions for the Cavallerie, Cambridge, 1632
Charles Dalton: English army
lists and commission registers, 1661-1714, vol. I
Godfrey Davies: The army of the
Eastern Association, 1644-5 (1931)
Sir Bernard de Gomme: Ordre of
his Maj’tie Armee of ii000 foot, and 6500 horse... British Museum Add MS 16370 f.
64
Sir William Dugdale: The life,
diary [1643-86] and correspondence [1635-86] of Sir William Dugdale, Knight
William Eldred: The Gunner’s
Glasse, 1646
Lord Fairfax: A short memoriall
of the Northern actions [1642-50]
Colonel Sir William Fairfax:
letter
Sir Charles Firth: Cromwell’s
Army, 3rd ed. 1921
C.H. Firth: The journal of
Prince Rupert’s marches 5 Sep 1642-4 Jul 1646
C.H. Firth: Marston Moor.
Transactions of the Royal Historical Society vol xii, 1898.
Sir Charles Firth and Godfrey
Davies: The regimental history of Cromwell’s army, 1940
G. K. Fortescue: Catalogue of
the pamphlets relating to the civil war, 1640-1661
Thomas Fuller: The history of
the Worthies of England 1662
Samuel Rawson Gardiner: History
of the Great Civil War, 1642-9
Robert Grifen: Letter
Captain ‘W.H.’ : Letter.
Unidentified but fought in the cavalry
Denzil Lord Holles: Memoirs
1641-8
Lord Hopton: Bellum Civile,
Somerset Record Society 1902
King James II: Life of James II
collected out of memoirs writ of his own hand
Alex. D.H. Leadman: Battles
fought in Yorkshire, 1891
Edmund Ludlow: Memoirs of Edmund
Ludlow, ed. C.H. Firth
Sergeant-Major-General Sir James
Lumsden: Plan of the allied armies at Marston Moor [now in library of York
minster]
Lumdsen: Letter to Lord Loudon
Gervase Markham: The Souldier’s
Grammar, 1626
Mercurius Civicus (11-18 April
1644)
Robert Monro: His expedition
with the worthy Scots regiment levied in August 1626
Duchess of Newcastle: The life
of William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle, ed Firth 1886
Mr Ogden: narrative
Edward Peacock: The army lists
of the Roundheads and Cavaliers, containing the names of the officers in the
two armies
Prince Rupert: Diary
Henry Shelley, MP: Account
Colonel Sir Henry Slingsby: The
diary of extracts printed in the autobiography of Captain John Hodgson
Colonel James Somerville:
account
Captain William Stewart: a full
relation of the victory at Marstam Moor.
Thomas Scockdale: letter
C.S. Terry: Papers relating to
the army of the Solemn League and Covenant, 1643-47
C.S. Terry: The Scottish
campaign in Northumberland and Durham, Archaeologia Aeliana, 1899
The Kingdomes Weekly
Intelligencer (14-17 May 1644)
Arthur Trevor: Letter to the
Marquess of Ormonde.
Sir James Turner: Memoirs of his
own life and time [1632-72]
John Vicars: England’s
parliamentarie chronicle, 1643-6
Eliot Warburton: Memoirs of
Prince Rupert and the Cavaliers
Robert Ward: Animadversions of
Warre 1639
J. Washbourne: Bibliotheca
Gloucestrnesis: tracts relating to the county and city of Gloucester during the
Civil War
Brig. Peter Young: Oliver
Cromwell and his times, 1962
Brig. Peter Young: Edgehill 1642
(1967)
(end of
Young’s bibliography)
References
Primary
P1. Munimenta Alme Universitatis Glasguensis 1575-1740
P2. Aberdeen Council letters 1645-1660
P3. Reports of Claims preferred to the House of Lords in
the cases of
the Cassillis, Sutherland, Spynie and Glencairn peerages,
1760-4
P4 St. Anthonys Chapel Scottish Events 1635-45, Rev.
Charles Rogers
P5 Wodrow’s Analecta (entries for the year 1721)
P6 Diary of Rev. John Kennedy of Benburb 1714-1737, held
at Presbyterian Historical Society library Belfast
P7 GD25 Ailsa Muniments, National Archives of Scotland
P8 Register of the Privy Council
P9 Register of the Great Seal
P10 Inquisitionum Ad Capellam Domini Regis Retornatum
Abbreviatio 1544-1699 (Retours of Services of Heirs)
Secondary
S1 Fasti of the Irish Presbyterian Church, Rev. Jas.
McConnell BA revised by his son Rev. Samuel G. McConnell BA
S2 Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae, Hew Scott
S2a Fasti Ecclesiae Scotticanae Medii Aevi Ad Annum 1638,
ed. Donald Watt
S3 History of the Presbyterian congregation of Carland,
Stewart Carse (tr. Samuel Stewart)
S4 Observations on 'History of the congregation of
Carland', A.G. Sloan
S5 History of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, James
Seaton Reid
S6 History of the sufferings of the Church of Scotland,
Robert Wodrow
S7 Regimental History of the Covenanting Armies
1639-1651, Edward Furgol
S8 Papers relating to the army of the Solemn League and Covenant
1643-1647, ed. Charles Sandord Terry
S9 Carrick Gallovidian, Kevan McDowall
S10 The Magnificent castle of Culzean and the Kennedy
family, Michael Moss
S11. Kansas: a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons, etc. ... / with a supplementary volume devoted to selected personal history and reminiscence. Standard Pub. Co. Chicago : 1912. 3 v. in 4. : front., ill., ports.; 28 cm. Vols. I-II edited by Frank W. Blackmar.
S12 'Ancestors of Brian Wilson' family tree, worldconnect project, http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=:509724&id=I22671555
This tree and others like it, directly connects the Kennedys of Bucks Co. Pennsylvania with the Earl of Cassillis
S13 Peerage of Scotland, Sir Robert Douglas rev. John Philip Wood, 1813
S14 Scots Peerage, Sir James Balfor Paul, 1904
S15 History of the County of Ayr, Paterson
S 16
Marston Moor 1644 the campaign and the battle, Brig. Peter Young
S 17
Battles and Generals of the Civil Wars, Col. HCB Rogers OBE
S 18 Civil
War, Trevor Royle FRSEd
S 19 The Kennedys, Sir James Fergusson of Kilkerran
S20 Scottish Covenanters and Irish Confederates; Scottish-Irish relations in the mid-seventeenth century, David Stevenson
S21 The Campaigns of Montrose. A military history of the Civil War in Scotland 1639-1646. Stuart Reid.