The History of the 2nd Dragoons: "Royal Scots Greys"Almack, Edward
History
The History of the 2nd Dragoons: "Royal Scots Greys"
Almack, Edward
Great Britain. Army. Dragoons, 2nd (Royal Scots Greys)
the Officers of the Army, with all their soldiers, and the Episcopall
Clergy, all broadsides to Hell, but particularly the General himself:
"What," said the General, "did you send me to Hell, Sir?" "_Yea_,"
replied the Dragoon, "you at the head of them, as their leader....
"During the winter and the following spring I secured many of those
whose names and abodes the canting Dragoon had given a list of....
In July following, the General, by order of Council, commanded me to
go with a detachment of 30 Horse and 50 Dragoons in pursuit of about
150 rebels who had escaped at Bothwell Bridge, and ever since kept
together in a body up and down in Galloway. I followed them for 5 or
6 days from one place to another; after which, on 22nd of July, they
stayed for me at Airs Moss.... The Moss is 4 miles long from east to
west and 2 broad. The Rebels drew up at the east end, and consisted
of 30 Horse and 120 Foot. I faced them upon a rising ground with my
30 Horse and 50 Dragoons. The reason why the Rebels chose this place
to fight on rather than a plain field was for fear their Horse might
desert the Foot, as they did on Hamilton Moor, near Bothwell Bridge:
and likewise, that in case they lost the day they might save themselves
by retreating into the Moss. I placed myself on the left, as judging
that the best officer the Rebels had would command on the right. The
action began about 5 in the afternoon, but lasted not long; for I
ordered my men first to receive the enemy's fire, then to ride down the
hill upon them and use their broad-swords. They did so, and before the
enemy had time to draw theirs, cut many of them down in an instant.
Whereupon they wheeled about, and Captain Fowler, who commanded the
Rebels on the right, being then in the rear, advancing up to me, I gave
him such a blow over the head with my broad-sword as would have cleaved
his scul had it not been defended by a steel cap. Fowler turning about,
aimed a blow at me, but I warded it off, and with a back stroke cut the
upper part of his head clean off from the nose upwards. By this time
the Rebells, leaving their horses, fled to the Moss; but the Royalists
pursuing them killed about 60 and took 14 prisoners. Here Cameron,
the famous Covenanter, lost his life, and Haxton was taken prisoner,
infamous for embruing his hands in the blood of the Archbishop of St.
Andrews ... for which paricide both his hands were afterwards cut off,
and he was hanged at Edenborough. But this victory cost me very dear,
for being then in the rear I rode into the Moss after the Rebels where
I overtook a dozen of them hacking and hewing one of my men whose horse
was bogged; his name was Elliot, a stout soldier and one of Claver's
troop. He had received several wounds, and was at the point of being
killed when I came to his relief. I shot one of the rogues dead with my
carbine, which obliged the rest to let the poor man and his horse creep
out of the hole, but at the same time drew all their fury upon myself;
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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