Gordon's Musketeers
A brief history of "The Gordons"
. During the time of the English civil war the royalist Scot's were
comprised mainly of lowland conventionally armed Scot's and Irish mercenaries.
The Marquis of Huntley began raising his troops in March of 1639 and were well
equipped with arms that had been brought from England by Sir Alexander Gordon of
Cluny. The cargo upon arrival in Aberdeen on march 17th included the following:
2000 Muskets
2000 Bandoleers
2000 Musket Staves
1000 Pikes with harness and armor
Carbines
Tack
Pistols
Powder
Lead and Match Cord.
The Aberdeen militia was persuaded with this new equipment to muster under the
kings banner and fortified the town of Aberdeen. The old militia was also muster
by Sir Gordon and finding them ill equipped for war he sat about re-equipping
them. Before his arrest by the earl of Montrose ( a Covenanter) Sir Gordon had
raised a regular regiment of lowland infantry known as the Strathbogie Regiment
which was trained by professional soldiers at Strathbogie Castle. This unit
equipped by the King was to cause problems for the government for a number of
years.
On the morning of May 14th 1639 the Royalist Army, much to their utter surprise,
had routed the government army twice their size at Turriff. At this point the
Royalist army of 800 horse and 600 infantry were comprised of three fourths men
from the Strathbogie regiment. This regiment was organized into six companies
and were two thirds musketeers and one third pikeman who were armored. More
important this regiment had the benefit of having two and a half months training
from a professional soldier. This allowed the defeat and eventual occupation of
Aberdeen.
At Megray hill on June 15th, 1639 the Royalist army had increased in size to
2,500 horse and foot. This army was mainly composed of infantry as it is very
unlikely that there were more than 250 - 300 cavalry. After the initial firing
of the governments artillery and the subsequent routing of 500 highland
volunteers armed with nothing but bows and firelocks. Of the 1,700 or so
infantry 600 were assigned to the Strathbogie regiment and were led by Capt.
Nathaniel Gordon.
There was little if any actual fighting at Megray Hill and ended with the
retreat of the Royalist Army in confusion over the deserting en-mass of the
highland volunteers. As a result of this the Army found that night having all
it's cavalry part but not all of the Strathbogie regiment and a single company
of highlanders left to defend the bridge of Dee the only easy crossing point
into Aberdeen.
Before dawn on June 18th the Strathbogie regiment under the command of Nathaniel
Gordon was dispatched to hold the bridge. There is some dispute as to how many
men actually made it to the bridge but between 100 and 500 men did defend it.
The general belief is that 100 militiamen defended the bridge with 400 men most
of which belonged to the Strathbogie regiment lined the north bank of the river.
Defeated at the bridge the army retreated and was later disbanded on the 18th on
the ending of the war.
The Second raising of the army occurred in 1644 and was similar to the one
raised in 1639 but was no longer as well armed as before. This was the result of
the government in the intervening time period. The force was comprised mainly of
lowland muskets and pikes (with no armor) matching what the government forces
had at the time as well. During this time period the Strathbogie regiment was
used as a garrison at Aberdeen and many of the individuals of the Aberdeen
militia volunteered for Huntleys army. The majority of Royalist infantry at the
time comprised mainly of companies led by small lords. Again the Highlanders
participated as well and played a predominant role in the only fighting that
occurred during the rising and raid on Montrose on the 24th of April 1644.
Re-enactment group.
The Gordon's Musketeers portray a typical Company of Pike and Musket of the
time. We are mainly a musket Company with a small unit of pike and artillery.
Our Unit currently consists of:
1 Lieutenant
1 Ensign
Sergeant of Muskets
1 Corporal of Muskets
6 musketeers
1 Corporal of Pike
3 Pikeman
If you would like to Join the Gordons or Form your own unit please contact:
Brian Smith,
Marquis of Huntleys Regiment Gordons Musketeers
1447 Carrington Ave.
Winter Springs, Florida 32708-6133
Vern Catron
Marquis of Huntleys Regiment Gordons Musketeers
101Morning View Dr
Temple, GA 30179
If you have any questions please feel free to contact any
of the above people and we will be glad to help you.
We have worked with Clan Tartan at Stanton, VA twice. Have had lots of fun with them.
Date of last update 09/25/08