Flags for Gordon of Monymore's Regiment

Below are the flags I used on Gordon of Monymore's Regiment. They were made in photoshop and can be printed for use in your own armies. They can be used as is, but I prefer to re-paint completely over the printed design as I prefer the hand-painted look. The hand-painted end-product can be seen here.

The white sheet above  is a Colonel's colour with the Gordon coat of arms in the centre.  There is no direct evidence that Monymore used this colour, but Stuart Reid and others have postulated that this is likely given the later use of this colour  by the Gordons of Strathavan during the Jacobite uprisings of both 1715 and 1745. The only difference between the English Civil War colour and the later colour would be the ducal coronet (or crown) placed above the arms signifying the title of Duke, granted in 1684 to the grandson of the 2nd Marquis of Huntly.

The Gordon arms are quartered, with each quarter representing  Gordon territories or family branches. The first quarter is in the top right and blue field with three golden boar heads. This quarter represents Gordon. The second quarter is a gold (yellow) field with three red lions' heads. This quarter represents the Lordship of Badenoch. The third quarter is gold (yellow) with three red crescents, set inside a royal double tressure (or border). This quarter represents the Seton family. The fourth quarter is blue with three stylised five-petal flowers (referred to as cinquefoils). This quarter represents the Aboyne lands. More information on the Gordon coat of arms can be found here.

The yellow sheet is a speculative company colour based on a description of a set of colours ordered by Huntly in early 1644. The text and device is described by Spalding but the field colour is speculative (yellow seems likely for a rampant lion).

"Upon Monday the 15th of April he [Huntley] returned about six hours at even to Aberdeen he caused make some ensigns where upon ilk side was drawn a red rampant lion having a crown of gold above his head a 'CR' for Charles Rex having the motto 'For God the king and against all traitors' and beneath 'God save the king'. There were diverse others made for the barons. The marquis and his followers wore a black taffeta about their craig whilk was a sign to fight to the death but it proved otherwise"

An excerpt from "THE HISTORY OF THE TROUBLES AND MEMORABLE TRANSACTIONS IN SCOTLAND DURING THE REIGN OF CHARLES I" By JOHN SPALDING, COMMISSARY CLERK ABERDEEN

There is one curious line in this quote; "There were diverse other made for the barons". Spalding could be saying here that a range of different flags were made for "the barons" (which I assume refers to all the nobles that fought under Huntly) . However I have interpreted this to mean that a number of similar sheets were provided to all Gordon regiments of 1644. This would include the Strathbogie Regt and Monaltrie's Regt, which later split into Inverey's Regt and Monymore's Regt in early 1645.

Apologies for repeating info on the yellow sheet that is posted elsewhere on this blog, but I wanted to include all the relevant flag information in this post too.

Gordon of Monymore's Regiment

Last week I put the finishing touches on Monymore's Regiment. The figures are mostly Eureka Highland Musketeers and Pikemen from the 17th Century Scots range. The unit includes a handful of Perry ECW scots in lowland clothing and a couple of Old Glory figures, most notably Col. Wm Gordon himself in full belted plaid with claymore.

I requested the Eureka range through the Eureka "100 Club" back in 2006, with Montrose's highland troops in mind. They were sculpted by Alan Marsh to be compatible with Perry ECW Scots and were finally produced in Jan 2008. Primary reference provided was the 17th century Stettin print. 

Col. William Gordon in full highland attire comes from the Old Glory ECW Highland Command bag. The figure comes modelled with an anachronistic philabeg (or small kilt), a late 18th century fashion development. I added the full belted plaid, as worn in the 17th century, using greenstuff. The unpainted conversion can be seen in an earlier WIP blog post.

To give the unit a strong highland flavour I have painted almost every model with some tartan. The highlanders have belted plaids, and tartan long coats, and those in lowland clothing typically have tartan breeks (breeches).  Several folks have asked how I paint the plaids, so I have prepared a short step-by-step which I will publish here shortly. It's quite straightforward though, the main ingredient being a steady hand.

This regiment was raised in the Gordon controlled territory of Strathavan in the Speyside area of Scotland. This area is famous for its ubiquitous whiskey distilleries, and the small town of Monymore (also written as Minimore) from where the regiment gets it's name, was very close to the modern distillery town of Glen Livet. I used to pass through this area every year on our annual family pilgrimage to Aviemore and the Cairngorm mountains, and as well as the great malts, the scenery is really beautiful. 

The men were initially raised by William Gordon to form part of Donald Farquarson of Monaltrie's regiment, together with troops raised on Deeside in support of Gordon Chieftan and overlord, the Marquis of Huntly's 1639 Royalist resistance in the Northeast. Monaltrie's regiment, in which William Gordon was an officer, is thought to have been at the battle of Megray Hill (near Stonheaven) in 1640 where the Royalists were roundly defeated and the regiment subsequently disbanded. 

The regiment was raised again in early 1644, once again in support of an uprising sponsored by the Marquis of Huntly. The unit fought at Fyvie, and Inverary in 1644, but in March 1645 Monaltrie was killed at Aberdeen during a surprise attack by Hurry (now with the Covenanters). At around this time the Strathavan men were formed into a regiment of their own led by Col. William Gordon.

During the remainder of 1645, Monymore's regiment were present at the battles of Auldearn, Alford and Kilsyth, and at Auldearn were instrumental in helping to drive back the covenanter attack, pouring continuous volleys of musketry into the advancing government troops. The were not at Montrose's defeat at Philiphaugh, and the regiment fought on after Montrose's campaigning was over, taking part in Huntly's infamous storming of Aberdeen in 1646. 

                

The regiment was disbanded later in 1646 after the Royalists were defeated in Scotland, however William Gordon, a staunch Catholic, never ceased to resist the Covenanter government and never abandoned the Royalist cause. He was an active and unwavering supporter of the Stuarts his whole life and unlike many of his Royalist contemporaries, he was fortunate enough to die peacefully of old age in 1674. 

When the regiment was raised in 1639 they were described as being equipped with bow and firelock. This means they were probably as poorly equipped as any highland levy of the times. At Megray Hill in 1640 they are described as a 'standing regiment' and are thought to have been conventionally armed with pike and shot. They were not however very disciplined at this point, as their less than impressive performance during this defeat suggests.

The regiment is considered to have been conventionally armed and drilled for the entire duration of the 1644-1646 campaign, and their performance under Montrose, especially at Auldearn and Alford, suggests much improved discipline and training. 

In keeping with all other foot regiments in this project I have given Monymore's Regt two colours. The white sheet is a Colonel's colour with the Gordon coat of arms in the centre. This is based on the colour carried by Gordons of Strathavan in the Jacobite uprisings of 1715 and 1745. 

The yellow sheet is a speculative company colour based on a description of a set of colours ordered by Huntly in early 1644. The text and device is described by Spalding but the field colour is speculative (yellow seems likely for a rampant lion).

"Upon Monday the 15th of April he [Huntley] returned about six hours at even to Aberdeen he caused make some ensigns where upon ilk side was drawn a red rampant lion having a crown of gold above his head a 'CR' for Charles Rex having the motto 'For God the king and against all traitors' and beneath 'God save the king'. There were diverse others made for the barons. The marquis and his followers wore a black taffeta about their craig whilk was a sign to fight to the death but it proved otherwise"

An excerpt from "THE HISTORY OF THE TROUBLES AND MEMORABLE TRANSACTIONS IN SCOTLAND DURING THE REIGN OF CHARLES I" By JOHN SPALDING, COMMISSARY CLERK ABERDEEN

         

There is one curious line in this quote; "There were diverse other made for the barons". Spalding could be saying here that a range of different flags were made for "the barons" (which I assume refers to all the nobles that fought under Huntly) . However I have interpreted this to mean that a number of similar sheets were provided to all Gordon regiments of 1644. This would include the Strathbogie Regt and Monaltrie's Regt, which later split into Inverey's Regt and Monymore's Regt in early 1645.

The yellow sheet has already been shared in earlier blog post, but I will post both flags together on the blog soon. I have already made good progress with the Marquis of Huntly's Strathbogie regiment and that will be the next new Royalist unit to appear on the blog. I will try and get a WIP post up soon.

An excellent resource for further information on this regiment is the website of "Colonel William Gordon's Company of Foot", a group of (mainly british) re-enactors dedicated to bringing this regiment back to life. The photos of re-enactors on this site are terrific painting resource. I have added another set of links to the side bar which will take you to this and other great re-enactment websites for the period.

George Mackenzie, 2nd Earl of Seaforth

Command base representing George Mackenzie, 2nd Earl of Seaforth.

Although on good relations with the king, Seaforth had come out on the side of the Covenant during the Bishops, leading the forces north of the Spey.  However, the convenanters suspected his loyalty and  he was temporarily imprisoned.  Perhaps the kirk had good reason for this, for not long after he entered into a bond with Montrose amongst others to support the king.  Yet again, Mackenzie seemed to play both sides, turning down the kings offer of becoming Chief Justice General of the Isles, then siding with the government after Montrose won the Battle of Justice Mill's in September 1644.

Montrose captured Mackenzie during the winter campaign, but he was released having sworn allegiance to the king and promising never to take up arms against Montrose.  True to form, Mackenzie then joined with Hurry (!), taking command of the northern clans and local regiments. In Macrae's account of the battle, he suggest's that Mackenzie and Montrose had been in communication.  Indeed, in the descriptions of the fighting, Mackenzie's northern regiments are not mentioned - perhaps being held back, as the certainly emerged pretty much unscathed.

Not long after this, after turning down another commission by the government,  Mackenzie came out for Montrose and the king, joining them at the siege of Inverness. By November he had left for Norway, not long after Montrose's defeat at Philliphaugh.

For the game, Mackenzie will probably get a low command rating (in Pike & Shotte) of 6-7, making it hard for the units under his command to fully commit to the fight.

Sir James Halkett's Regiment of Horse

Raised in Fife, Colonel Sir James Halkett was a staunch Covenanter and elder of the local Parish. By November 1644 it had moved north and was essentially brigaded Balcarres’ Horse. After fleeing Aberdeen, the two regiments were chastised for lack of vigor in pursuit of Montrose after the recapture of Dundee.  Carrying on the pursuit they harried Montrose’s forces up Glen Esk, inflicting casualties along the way and preserving the local populace from the plundering of the Royalist’s.

After Joining Hurry on Aberdeen, it proceeded to Auldearn where it formed part of the reserve of Hurry's army.  Although able to escape (due to being mounted), the troop was still roughly handled. 

It continued on, serving on the left of the government forces at Alford.  However, by the 10^th of July, the losses it and Balcarres’ regiment had accumulated resulted in their amalgamation.  The combined regiment received fresh recruits in time for Kilsyth, but at the end of the battle it was a spend force and disbanded altogether.

Detached from the main field army in England to deal with Montrose, Halkett's were the best of Hurry's cavalry.  The regiment should be 16 figures strong but I'm going to paint a unit of lancers later, and then use them for the second rank.

Again couldn't find much on the regiment and certainly not the color. Overshadowed by later generations of Halkett's, the family crest was overly complicated, so I've simplified it and added the motto into the coronet.

With the completion of this unit, I'm 2/3rds of the way through my part of the project!  Hopefully, 2013 will see an end to hodden grey!

Rear Rank

Coronet

Findlatter's Regiment

Raised by the James, 1^st Earl of Findlater from his kinsmen, friends, tenants and servants in May 1644, he served with Argyll in the north.  Unfortunately, this left his lands around Banffshire unprotected, as his lands were sacked and his wife saved their home only by paying Montrose ransom.  With his men, he joined Hurry, no doubt looking for revenge .  However, with defeat at Auldearn, he and his men disappeared from the history books no doubt licking their wounds and reflecting on becoming embroiled in local politics!

The Earl of Findlatter's estates where around Banff and Buchan, indeed the ruin of Findlatter castle hugs the northern shore hereabouts.  At the time of the battle, the Earl was an Oglivy.  This in itself is interesting, as the Ogilvy's were staunch supporters of Montrose.  As in many civil wars and rebellions, many families played both sides of the fence, not because they were riven by family strife, but to try and ensure that the "family" would always be on the winning side.  As we'll see in later post's, the covenanters force, though numerically superior, contained a fair proportion of troops whose leaders may have had little loyalty to the cause.

The standard thus has the Ogilvy Lion which is part of the present crest of Banff.  Perhaps easily identifiable to their kinsmen on the Royalist side!  The unit has been painted the usual mix of hodden greys, with a red/black plaid holding the unit together.

Its around 8 figures over-strength for Aulderan (see the Northern Levies too), but this gives me some room to play with for normal games.

Photo's not the best - wee bit to much sun and taken on the iPhone.