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James Graham, Marquess of Montrose

Type Figure Region Scotland Time 1612–1650 Also known as Marquess of Montrose、Earl of Montrose

James Graham (1612–1650), a Scottish Covenanter nobleman who defected to Charles I, was made marquess in 1644 and won a string of victories before hi…

Timeline

  1. 1626–1640Edinburgh · EdinburghSucceeded to the earldom on his father's death in 1626, studied at St Andrews, and married a daughter of Carnegie at seventeen. In 1638 he signed the National Covenant in Edinburgh, opposing the liturgical regulations imposed by Charles I and Laud, and entered Aberdeen three times to suppress the Gordons' Royalist strength. In August 1640 he joined the Covenanter army in occupying northern England while competing with Argyll for leadership of the movement.
  2. 1641–1644Edinburgh · EdinburghGraham feared Argyll was turning the Covenanting movement into a Presbyterian oligarchy against the king, and was imprisoned in Edinburgh from June to November 1641. After the Covenanter army marched south in 1643–1644 to aid the English Parliament, Charles I made him marquess and lieutenant-general in Scotland. He first tried and failed to cut in from the English flank, then slipped back to the Highlands to raise clans and Irish auxiliaries.
  3. 1644–1645Kilsyth / Philiphaugh · Stirling–Lanark areaFirst victory at Tippermuir on 1 September 1644, then took Aberdeen; on 2 February 1645 he heavily defeated Argyll at Inverlochy, followed by victories at Aldern and Alford, and after the great triumph at Kilsyth on 15 August he briefly held Scotland. After Naseby the king could no longer reinforce him, and David Leslie brought the Covenanter army back, routing his forces at Philiphaugh on 13 September. The Highland troops' burning and killing left deep hatred, and he could not hold his ground in the Lowlands.
  4. 1646–1650Edinburgh Market Cross · EdinburghHe went into exile on the Continent in 1646. After Charles I's execution, the exiled Charles II restored his title of lieutenant-general in Scotland in 1649, then distanced himself while negotiating with Argyll. In March 1650 he landed from Orkney, was routed by surprise at Kilsyth in Ross-shire on 27 April, and was handed over by MacLeod of Assynt. Parliament sentenced him on 20 May; he was hanged at the Market Cross on the 21st, with his book 'The Life of Montrose' hung around his neck in disgrace. After the Restoration his remains were reburied in St Giles' Cathedral.

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