Document record MAB52660 - BATTLE OF ALFORD

Site of the Battle of Alford.

Site of the Battle of Alford. The battle of Alford was fought between the Scottish Royalists and Government Troops during the Civil War period, on the 2nd of July 1645. It was the fifth battle of the Marquis of Montrose's Scottish campaign on behalf of Charles I of England against the Covenanter army. The battle ended in a victory for Montrose and opened the way to the lowlands for the Royalist army. The victory was a great boost for Charles I, whose cause was faltering badly after a crushing defeat at Naseby in June 1645. In Scotland, the effect of the battle was to expose the weakness in the Covenanter army, where the commander was subject to the orders of the powerful Committee of Estates. Montrose was positioned on the brow of Gallow Hill (NJ 561 160) and Baillie on the marshy ground (NJ 563 165). It appears that Montrose decided to stand and engage Baillie before the latter could be joined by any other forces. The Royalists probably deployed on the slopes above Alford church close by the main road, while Baillie crossed the river by a ford further to the east near Montgarrie. It is suggested that the Covenanters believed Montrose to be retreating and so advanced too quickly. They found themselves within just half a mile of Montrose when they discovered he had in fact deployed to fight. The Royalist forces stood largely out of sight on the top or back slope of the hill, and so Baillie halted in the valley and took advantage of a strong defensive position amongst enclosures on the low ground. The two armies deployed in a standard formation with two cavalry wings and infantry in the centre. The Royalist cavalry charge, seconded by detachments of infantry who had also been positioned on the wings to strengthen the cavalry deployment, soon drove off the Covenanter horse. In contrast, the Covenanter infantry stood and fought until they were outflanked and attacked at the same time to the rear, by the Royalist cavalry, and to the fore by infantry. According to Baillie, they had had to deploy just three ranks deep, instead of the more normal six deep, to avoid being over-winged by the wider formation of the Royalists. As a result they were unable to respond to a simultaneous attack at both front and rear. Baillie's infantry broke and ran, the rout soon turning into a bloody execution as the Royalist cavalry pressed home the pursuit. While the Covenanters suffered perhaps 700 killed, the Royalist casualties were very light but did include the death of their cavalry commander Lord Gordon. The Covenanters had the numerical advantage, but a substantial proportion were unwilling recent recruits. The army appears to have been around 2,400 infantry and 380 cavalry. Baillie reckoned himself outnumbered 2:1 in foot and very slightly in horse, which may reflect his opinion of his new troops. Current estimates for the size of Montrose's Royalist force are around 1,800 infantry and 500 cavalry. There is a wild variance in the figures given for the Covenanter dead, from 700 in some modern accounts, to contemporary accounts that claimed all the infantry with their officers were killed, except a few stragglers and 12 officers who were taken prisoner. The lower figures are far more likely. All of the accounts suggest very low Royalist casualties, with contemporary accounts putting the Royalist dead in single figures. It is likely that there was a higher mortality than this for Montrose's troops, but certainly their casualties were light. A stone was erected to mark the spot where the son of the Earl of Gordon fell during the battle (NJ51NE0248). The stone was eventually buried under the town dump. A skeleton and a 17th Century broadsword were found in the mid 18th Century by a peat-digger. A commemorative plaque and stone (NJ51NE0249) now stand next to the Alford war memorial (NJ51NE0169) on Parkhill Road.

Period Notes
2 July 1645.

ORDNANCE SURVEY, 1871, Ordnance Name Book, No5(1866) 32 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1360.

BROADSWORD

SIMPSON, WD, 1949, EARLDOM OF MAR, 101 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1681.

BUCHAN, J, 1979, MONTROSE (Bibliographic reference). SAB3771.

MARREN, P, 1990, GRAMPIAN BATTLEFIELDS, 173-82 (Bibliographic reference). SAB1169.

MARTIN, DE, 1997, THE BATTLEFIELDS OF SCOTLAND: A REPORT ON THEIR PRESERVATION FOR HISTORIC SCOTLAND (Bibliographic reference). SAB5073.

Jan 1 1991 , AAS/GR/91/CT56,58, AAS/GR/91/CT56,58 (Ground Photograph). SAB32833.

Jun 1 2014 , AAS-GR-14-06-001, AAS-GR-14-06-001 (Ground Photograph). SAB20787.

Author unknown, n.d., DUNDEE COURIER & ADVERTISER, 11/04/1884 (Bibliographic reference). SAB2428.

Record last edited

Mar 17 2026 12:44PM