Covenant and Conflict: Bishops’ Wars, 1637–1640

Charles and the Scottish Commissioners, 1639. By Henry Marriott Paget.

The crisis that erupted in Scotland in the late 1630s began not with cannon fire, but with a prayer book. When Charles I of England attempted to impose religious uniformity across his kingdoms, he ignited resistance that would swell into the Bishops’ Wars and ultimately help precipitate the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. At the heart of the Scottish resistance stood the Covenanters—among them the lairds and leaders of Clan Forbes—who saw in the struggle not only a political dispute but a defense of their faith and identity. Although England and Scotland shared a monarch after 1603, they maintained separate parliaments and churches. In Scotland, the Kirk had developed along Presbyterian lines, governed by assemblies of elders rather than bishops appointed by the Crown. By contrast, the Church of England retained episcopal governance, with bishops nominated by the monarch.

In 1637 Charles I sought to impose a new Anglican-style prayer book on the Scottish Kirk and to reinforce episcopal authority by appointing bishops who sat in the Scottish Parliament as part of the “first estate.” The reaction was immediate and explosive. Riots in Edinburgh signaled widespread rejection of royal religious policy. (Stevenson, David. 1973. The Scottish Revolution, 1637–1644. New York: St. Martin’s Press.) Resistance rapidly coalesced into a national movement. In February 1638 Scots from across the kingdom subscribed the National Covenant, pledging to defend their reformed faith and resist innovations “contrary to the confession of faith.” (Ibid.) That November, the General Assembly at Glasgow formally abolished episcopacy and expelled the king’s bishops.

For Clan Forbes, this was no abstract theological quarrel. The Forbeses had long been committed Protestants and had often stood in opposition to their powerful Catholic-leaning neighbors, the Gordons of Huntly in Aberdeenshire. (Spalding, John. 1850. Memorialls of the Trubles in Scotland and in England. Aberdeen: Spalding Club.) Signing the Covenant was thus both a declaration of religious conviction and an affirmation of longstanding regional rivalry. Among the signatories were John Forbes of Leslie, Sir William Forbes of Craigievar, and numerous other Forbes lairds and ministers.

The First Bishops’ War (1639): From Turriff to the Brig o’ Dee

By early 1639, confrontation seemed inevitable. On 14 January, several members of Clan Forbes met at Monymusk “for their awin business,” clearly preparing for what lay ahead. (Stevenson, Scottish Revolution.) On 31 January, the Master of Forbes, Lord Fraser, and others assembled at Turriff to select commissioners for Edinburgh. When George Gordon, Marquis of Huntly, attempted to counter the gathering on 14 February, the Covenanters appeared with some 800 armed horsemen, forcing him to retreat. (Ibid.)

War formally erupted in the spring. Despite warnings from some English councillors that invasion would worsen matters, Charles raised forces—including Irish Catholic troops from Ulster—and advanced north from York in April 1639. (Ibid.) The Scots rallied under the experienced soldier Alexander Leslie.

In Aberdeenshire, the leadership of Clan Forbes proved decisive. Alexander, Master of Forbes and later 10th Lord Forbes, found himself in a delicate position. Though loyal to the Crown, he was the de facto head of a deeply Presbyterian clan. By encouraging his nineteen-year-old son William—later 11th Lord Forbes—to take a commission, he supported the Covenanter cause while preserving some political distance.

Commissioned as a colonel, William raised a regiment of approximately 900 foot in Aberdeenshire. In May 1639 his men clashed with roughly 2,000 Royalists under Huntly at Turriff in what became known as the “Trot o’ Turriff.” A brief exchange of musket fire and cannon shots sent the Covenanters retreating in disorder; several were captured, including Sir George Skene of Skene and Colonel Arthur Forbes of Echt. (Furgol, Edward M. 1990. A Regimental History of the Covenanting Armies, 1639–1651. Edinburgh: J. Donald Publishers.) Although a minor skirmish, it marked the first bloodshed of the Bishops’ Wars.

Forbes contingents soon helped reoccupy Aberdeen and engaged Royalist defenders at the Brig o’ Dee over the River Dee. (Furgol, Regimental History.) Across the northeast, Forbes lairds—Craigievar, Monymusk, Leslie, Boyndlie, Echt, and others—raised retinues from their estates, forming a crucial component of the 1,000-strong northeastern Covenanter force. Their occupation of Aberdeen in late May 1639 and subsequent operations under Montrose and Marischal secured the region for the Covenant, though not without episodes of vandalism and local hardship.

The First Bishops’ War concluded without a decisive pitched battle. The Treaty of Berwick in June 1639 temporarily defused the crisis but left its underlying constitutional and ecclesiastical issues unresolved. (Stevenson, Scottish Revolution.)

The Second Bishops’ War (1640): Newburn and the Occupation of England

Advance of the Covenanters across the border into England, 1640. By Edmund Blair Leighton.

The peace proved fragile. Unwilling to accept the abolition of episcopacy in Scotland, Charles renewed preparations for war. This time the Scots struck first. In August 1640 Leslie’s army crossed into northern England and defeated royal forces at the Battle of Newburn, securing Newcastle and its coal supplies. (Carlton, Charles. 1995. Charles I: The Personal Monarch. London: Routledge.)

The king, unable to resist effectively, negotiated the Treaty of Ripon, permitting Scottish occupation of Northumberland and Durham at English expense. (Ibid.) Financial necessity forced Charles to recall the English Parliament—an event that would spiral into the English Civil War.

Forbes men again served prominently in Leslie’s ranks. Veterans of continental warfare—some having served under Gustavus Adolphus in Sweden—brought discipline and tactical skill to the Scottish infantry. (Furgol, Regimental History.) Their presence strengthened the Covenanter army’s reputation for professionalism.

At home, the Forbeses continued to counter Gordon efforts to mobilize Royalist support. Estates such as Craigievar, Monymusk, and Tolquhon became staging grounds for Covenanter defense. (Spalding, Memorialls.) Politically, Forbes leaders endorsed the constitutional arguments of the Covenanting government: that the king had exceeded his lawful authority and that the Kirk must remain free of episcopal control.

Faith and Fortitude

The Covenanter victories in the Bishops’ Wars reshaped British politics through faith. By forcing Charles I to summon Parliament, they triggered a chain of events that culminated in the English Civil War and the broader Wars of the Three Kingdoms. (Carlton, Charles I.) Scotland’s assertion of religious autonomy exposed the fragility of Stuart authority across the British Isles.

For Clan Forbes, the wars reaffirmed a longstanding role as defenders of reform and defiance of absolute monarchy. From the Trot o’ Turriff to the Brig o’ Dee, from Aberdeen to Newburn, Forbes lairds and their retinues secured the northeast for the Covenant through their fortitude on the field of battle.

In the years that followed, they would continue to navigate the violent currents of civil war. But in the Bishops’ Wars, their stance was clear and consequential. They stood for the Presbyterian Kirk, for Scotland’s ancient rights, and for a vision of governance in which conscience and covenant stood above royal command.