James Graham, the Marquis of Montrose and chief of clan Graham, played a major role in the seventeenth century Wars of the Three Kingdoms. He was an accomplished poet, archer and golfer. When Charles I sought to impose the English Prayer Book and other Anglican practices on the Scottish Presbyterian Kirk, Montrose faced a dilemma between his loyalty to the King and to the Scottish religion. He signed the National Covenant to protect the Scottish religion and he squared this with his duty to the king by viewing himself as protesting to the King about the Prayer Book. He became one of the National Covenant leaders including fighting the King’s supporters in the north of Scotland. After the King’s military threat dissipated because of the issues in England leading to the onset of the English Civil War, Montrose opposed Archibald Campbell, the Marquis of Argyll, an unsavory politician who had control of the Scottish Parliament and the National Covenant movement and favored Scotland entering the Civil War in support of the English Parliament. Montrose was loyal to the King who appointed him his Lord Lieutenant and Captain General in Scotland. With the support of the MacDonald and the Gordon clans among others, he won a number of key battles (Tippermuir, Fyvie, Inverlochy, Auldearn, Alford, Kilsyth) with great daring and tactical skill against the larger forces of his foes. After Kilsyth he was the master of all of Scotland. Eventually he suffered a major reversal (Philiphaugh) attributable largely to the disloyalty of some of his Scottish lowland allies, but he was in the process of rebuilding his forces at Blair Atholl when Charles surrendered to the Argyll Scots and ordered Montrose to lay down his arms. Montrose went into exile in 1646 and, after Charles was executed, extended his allegiance to Charles II. On behalf of Charles II, he sought to raise a new army in Scotland, but Charles was dealing at the same time with Argyll in Edinburgh, which undermined Montrose’s efforts and contributed to his defeat at the Battle of Carbisdale and subsequent capture. Argyll executed Montrose by hanging in 1650 but Argyll was himself executed when Charles II returned to England in the Restoration. Montrose (who had been dismembered after his execution) was then buried at St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh.

CV Wedgewood paints a sympathetic picture of Montrose emphasizing his strong sense of honor not only in his unwavering loyalty to the Kings once the civil wars began but also in his humane conduct of war including trying to avoid or limit the plunder of captured towns and to provide civil treatment to prisoners. Despite the slander and propaganda of his enemies, he was popular in Scotland and, on the day of his execution, the Edinburgh mob did not rail against him as Argyll had hoped. Montrose was unlucky in his Kings who failed to heed his counsel and did not reciprocate his fidelity. Montrose died a young man of 37, lost his eldest son in the war as well as his wife and had his castle, Kincardine, destroyed by his enemies. While he was ultimately defeated and executed, the Civil War provided him the opportunity to demonstrate his military greatness and honorable character. ( )