The Lord Chancellor's Regiment

John, 1^st Earl of Loudoun, was Lord Chancellor of Scotland, and raised his regiment in August 1643.  Although he had little military experience himself, his senior officers, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Home and Major John Haldane had extensive experience on the continent.  The regiment was recruited in Glasgow and Paisley to full strength, before departing south in January 1644 to join the main field army with Leven. 

 

It served at Hilton and during the siege of York during the spring and early summer.  On July 2^nd it was at Marston Moor, brigaded with the Tweedale Foote.  However, with the breakthrough of the Royalist cavalry, the regiment was routed, but with minimal casualties.  After the battle it recovered to continue campaigning through Yorkshire after the fall of York. By late summer it was again brigaded with Tweedale’s Regiment in the siege lines around Newcastle, where it participated in the storming of the town via the Closegate breach in November.

 

It headed north in March 1645 to join Baillie, pursuing Montrose after the recapture of Dundee, before being detached to Hurry’s command. Here it was brigaded with Lothian’s Foot and Halkett’s Horse, garrisoning Aberdeen.  During this time the regiment had left 200 of its men sick in England, detached another 300 in small garrisons along the north east coast, leaving Aberdeen for the field in April with a strength of 500 men.

 

At Auldearn it served in the front line, and although not singled out for special treatment like it’s sister “Irish” regiments, it still incurred heavy losses.  It remained in the northeast through the remainder of the summer and although recruits were recorded to be drafted from Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, Pebbleshire and Midlothian it is not clear whether they reached the regiment before it was engaged at Kilsyth.  Here it formed the left of the front line with Home’s regiment .  Ordered to hold their ground, they instead advanced to contact with the Maclean’s opposite them in a series of enclosures.  A prolonged firefight erupted but with no real success (perhaps a reflection of the input of new recruits) and the regiment eventually advanced on the Macleans.  However, timely reinforcement by Clanranald turned the tide after bitter hand to hand fighting, and the regiment was destroyed during the subsequent rout.

 

What remained of the regiment tried to reform and recruit, but ultimately it was disbanded, with some of its men rolled into the General of Artillery’s Foot in the New Model Army.

I couldn't find any record of its standards so was left with a lot of room to be creative. The Regimental standard was the Saltire, broken into alternating red/blue eigths, with the usual invocation to the covenant. The colonel's colour incorporates the actual crest of the Scottish Lord Chancellor, so though it may not be correct historically, it offers a link to the real role.

The tartans for the blankets again bring the unit together, whilst a little diversity from the hodden grey gave the unit a weathered appearance. A couple of dead and wounded figures also broke up the firing line, making for a couple of dramatic vignettes.