harrytheheid
A Fixture
Final images have been delayed due to the recent atrocious weather in China, but this diorama is now finished at long last.
Following is a much condensed history of the events depicted in the attached photos.
The Battle & Sack of Aberdeen, September 1644
James Graham, 1st Marquis of Montrose is one of the most quixotic military commanders in Scottish history. Which is quite a sweeping statement considering that would include, for example; Malcolm III, Alexander II, Robert the Bruce, The Black Douglas, James IV, John Graham - Bonnie Dundee, (or Bloody Claverhouse depending on your point of view), Sir Colin Campbell, and a great many others.
On the outbreak of hostilities between King Charles I and Parliament, which would become known as The Wars of the Three Kingdoms, or The British Civil Wars 1638 – 1651; Montrose had been appointed Captain-General of the Royalist forces in Scotland. His campaign during 1644-1645 would be marked by the savage sectarian hatred demonstrated by both sides in the conflict. Having already won some minor victories earlier in 1644 against the forces of the Covenant who were loosely allied with the Parliamentarians in England, Montrose appeared before Aberdeen on 12 September with three Irish regiments totaling 1,500 men, 100 MacDonald Highlanders and two troops of horse commanded by Nathaniel Gordon and Sir Thomas Ogilvy.
On 13 September, the burgh was summoned to surrender. During the negotiations, a soldier from the city garrison is said to have shot and killed an Irish drummer boy accompanying the heralds, infuriating Montrose and his troops who swore vengeance on the Covenanters.
The battle commenced when a Covenanter force under the command of Lord Balfour of Burleigh marched out and deployed along the crest of a flat-topped ridge about half-a-mile south of the burgh. Burleigh's infantry comprised around 2,000 men; two regular Covenanter regiments (his own and that of Lord Forbes), the Aberdeen militia and some local levies. He also had around 300 cavalry, including three troops of regulars.
The Royalist forces attacked immediately and Burleigh’s line collapsed as his infantry regiments and the militiamen turned and ran back towards the town, pursued and slaughtered in the streets by the furious Irishmen.
Aberdeen was then subjected to a three-day orgy of murder, pillage and rape which Montrose made no attempt to stop. He may have wanted to make an example of the city for resisting him, but the atrocities committed in his name greatly damaged his reputation and alienated potential support for the cause of King Charles I in Scotland.
My small diorama depicts the fatal moment when the drummer boy was shot and killed.
Following is a much condensed history of the events depicted in the attached photos.
The Battle & Sack of Aberdeen, September 1644
James Graham, 1st Marquis of Montrose is one of the most quixotic military commanders in Scottish history. Which is quite a sweeping statement considering that would include, for example; Malcolm III, Alexander II, Robert the Bruce, The Black Douglas, James IV, John Graham - Bonnie Dundee, (or Bloody Claverhouse depending on your point of view), Sir Colin Campbell, and a great many others.
On the outbreak of hostilities between King Charles I and Parliament, which would become known as The Wars of the Three Kingdoms, or The British Civil Wars 1638 – 1651; Montrose had been appointed Captain-General of the Royalist forces in Scotland. His campaign during 1644-1645 would be marked by the savage sectarian hatred demonstrated by both sides in the conflict. Having already won some minor victories earlier in 1644 against the forces of the Covenant who were loosely allied with the Parliamentarians in England, Montrose appeared before Aberdeen on 12 September with three Irish regiments totaling 1,500 men, 100 MacDonald Highlanders and two troops of horse commanded by Nathaniel Gordon and Sir Thomas Ogilvy.
On 13 September, the burgh was summoned to surrender. During the negotiations, a soldier from the city garrison is said to have shot and killed an Irish drummer boy accompanying the heralds, infuriating Montrose and his troops who swore vengeance on the Covenanters.
The battle commenced when a Covenanter force under the command of Lord Balfour of Burleigh marched out and deployed along the crest of a flat-topped ridge about half-a-mile south of the burgh. Burleigh's infantry comprised around 2,000 men; two regular Covenanter regiments (his own and that of Lord Forbes), the Aberdeen militia and some local levies. He also had around 300 cavalry, including three troops of regulars.
The Royalist forces attacked immediately and Burleigh’s line collapsed as his infantry regiments and the militiamen turned and ran back towards the town, pursued and slaughtered in the streets by the furious Irishmen.
Aberdeen was then subjected to a three-day orgy of murder, pillage and rape which Montrose made no attempt to stop. He may have wanted to make an example of the city for resisting him, but the atrocities committed in his name greatly damaged his reputation and alienated potential support for the cause of King Charles I in Scotland.
My small diorama depicts the fatal moment when the drummer boy was shot and killed.
