After Cromwell's victories in Ireland, Charles II realised that he had little hope of initiating a Royalist campaign there. Instead he concentrated on negotiating with the Scots, who were furious at the presumption of the English Parliament in executing Charles I — who was king of Scotland as well as England. The Commonwealth Council of State in London was alarmed when Charles signed the Treaty of Breda in May 1650; it was resolved to mount an invasion of Scotland in order to forestall any Scottish move against England.
The Dunbar Campaign, July-August 1650
Sir Thomas Fairfax was reluctant to lead an offensive against the Scots and resigned from command of the New Model Army. Oliver Cromwell was appointed Commander-in-Chief in his place. John Lambert was appointed Lieutenant-General and George Monck was appointed Major-General of foot. Cromwell's army of eight regiments of horse and nine of foot, numbering around 16,000 men, marched north via York, Newcastle and Durham. On 19 July 1650, Cromwell mustered his forces at Berwick-on-Tweed. After sending messengers into Scotland to proclaim the righteousness of the Commonwealth cause, Cromwell crossed the border on 22 July 1650. Crucially, the army was supported by a supply fleet commanded by General-at-Sea Richard Deane.
Thc Covenanter army was under the command of General David Leslie, who took up a strong defensive position around Edinburgh and manoeuvred to avoid a pitched battle with Cromwell. Leslie ordered the destruction of all crops and the removal of all livestock between Edinburgh and the border so that the invaders would have to get all their supplies from England. The Scottish army greatly outnumbered the English, but its leadership was dominated by the Kirk Party, which insisted on purging the army of all but strict Covenanters. Up to 80 veteran officers and 3,000 experienced soldiers were judged unfit to serve and were replaced by raw recruits. Leslie decided to play for time. Like Ormond in Ireland, he planned to let sickness and hunger wear down the invaders before moving against them — and it was a particularly cold, wet summer. Cromwell was reluctant to fight the Covenanters in any case because he shared similar religious convictions. He appealed directly to the Scottish clergy, asking them to consider whether Charles Stuart was a fitting king for a godly people. Although there were signs of doubt among the Covenanter leaders and army officers, the clergy finally accepted Charles' signed declaration of fidelity to the Covenant. At the insistence of the Kirk Party, who were alarmed at his personal popularity with the army, Charles himself withdrew across the Firth of Forth to Dunfermline.
By the end of July, Cromwell had advanced to Musselburgh a few miles east of Edinburgh. Hampered by Scottish raids and bad weather, however, the position proved difficult to hold. In August, Cromwell attempted to skirt south around Edinburgh and advance to Queensferry, where command of the sea would enable the English to operate on both sides of the Firth of Forth. Cromwell established an advance position on Braid Hill, and on 24 August, Monck stormed and captured the Scottish stronghold of Red Hall. Cromwell advanced towards the Scottish lines, but Leslie remained determined to avoid a pitched battle. His defence proved impenetrable. By the end of August, sickness had reduced the strength of the English army to around 11,000 effective troops. Outmanoeuvred and unable to bring Leslie to battle, Cromwell was obliged to fall back to Dunbar so that his weakened army could be supported by the fleet. As Cromwell retreated, Leslie shadowed his movements with the 23,000-strong Army of the Covenant.
The Battle of Dunbar, 3 September 1650
On 1 September, Leslie took up a commanding position at Doon Hill on the edge of the Lammermuir Hills overlooking the English encampment at Dunbar. He had manoeuvred the Covenanter army to block Cromwell's route back to England. Trapped between the sea on one side, the Covenanters' impregnable position on the other, and with the road back to England blockaded, it seemed that Cromwell had no option but to evacuate his troops by sea.
On 2 September, however, the Covenanters played into Cromwell's hands by marching down from the commanding heights of Doon Hill. The decision to come down from the hills to attack on level ground was probably taken by the godly committee that accompanied the army, though Leslie himself may also have felt that the time had come to use his superiority of numbers to inflict a crushing defeat on the English. Cromwell regarded the manoeuvre as the answer to his fervent prayers. During the evening of 2 September the Covenanters drew up their line of battle in preparation for an attack the next day. The new Scottish line stretched in an arc with the coast on their right flank; the two armies were separated by the narrow wooded glen of the Brox Burn.
During the night, while the Covenanters rested uncomfortably in rain-soaked fields, Cromwell prepared a surprise attack. In a daring night manoeuvre, the bulk of the English army crossed the Brox Burn and reformed their lines on the other side. The night was dark and stormy, which prevented the Scots from realising that the English were on the move. Just before dawn on 3 September, the vanguard attacked, spearheaded by Lambert's cavalry and seconded by Monck's infantry regiments. Although taken by surprise, the Scots fought back fiercely. The front rank of the Scottish cavalry consisted of lancers who successfully disrupted Lambert's advance. The Scots succeeded in holding their position in the centre and keeping the English at bay. Cromwell then delivered his master stroke by leading his reserves in a crushing flank attack on the Scottish right wing, which was cramped between the Lammermuir hills behind and the Brox Burn ravine in front. Unable to manoeuvre, the Scottish horse were driven back through their own infantry. As Cromwell's Ironsides broke through the Scottish lines, the morning sun emerged from behind the clouds to shine off the silvery sea. Inspired by this omen, Cromwell quoted the 68th Psalm: "Now let God arise and his enemies be scattered." The Scottish position crumbled; according to Cromwell, they were "made by the Lord of Hosts as stubble to our swords."
The battle lasted two hours. 3,000 Scots were killed in the rout and another 10,000 taken prisoner. All the Scottish artillery and baggage was captured and 2,000 colours taken. Cromwell claimed that the Commonwealth army lost no more than 30 men. The wounded Scottish prisoners were released, but about 5,000 were marched south to Durham. Up to 3,500 Scots died from sickness and hunger either on the 8-day march or during the subsequent period of imprisonment in Durham Cathedral. The survivors were ultimately transported to New England as indentured labourers.
The routing of the Covenanters at Dunbar is regarded as the greatest of Cromwell's victories. Parliament resolved that a special medal should be struck for presentation to all ranks who fought at the battle. The Dunbar medal was the first of its kind for an English army; there was not to be another until the battle of Waterloo in 1815.
References:
Maurice Ashley, Cromwell's Generals, 1953
S.R. Gardiner, History of the Commonwealth and Protectorate vol. i, 1903
Peter Gaunt, The Cromwellian Gazetteer, 1987
William Seymour, Battles in Britain 1066-1746, 1997
David Stevenson, Revolution & Counter-Revolution in Scotland 1644-51, 1977
Links:
Battle of Dunbar : UK Battlefields Resource Centre