Part of the battle
site at Philiphaugh.
Montrose, with his troopers, found comfortable quarters in Selkirk,
placing the wide river between him and his army, confident in the
belief, after six victorious battles, he had worn down all opposition to
the Royalist cause.
The bulk of his men, containing a sizeable Irish contingent, encamped by
the river at Philiphaugh.
Not far off, along the Tweed, tramped Leslie's army. Leslie had sworn to rid the Borders of Montrose and his Royalist troops. It was autumn and a thick mist shielded his movements. He marched through Melrose in the dark and crossed the Ettrick at Lindean bringing his army close to where the Royalists were encamped.
Separating himself from his army Montrose was a serious mistake and, immediately he failed to post lookouts and had no intelligence of the size or whereabouts of his enemy.
When
the attack came it took Montrose completely by surprise and the first
intelligence he had of the enemy's presence was the sounds of shouts and
gunfire from across the river. Quickly gathering together his troopers
he leapt on a horse and sped away towards the battlefield. But he was
too late.
His army, asleep in their tents had no chance. The rout was immediate
and complete.
Those who could escape, fled for their lives, those who could not, were killed. Accompanied by his troopers and joined by Lord Napier, Montrose fled into the hills across Minchmoor towards Traquair where he hoped to find at least relief from his troubles. He was joined by stray remnants of his cavalry.
But at
Traquair he found his way barred. He was refused admission.
Meanwhile,
Leslie was mopping up, his victory complete.
Many of the fleeing soldiers were
slain by the local people who had suffered severely in the hands of
Montrose's men.
The officers of higher rank were taken to Edinburgh and Glasgow and
there executed.
The carnage which followed was horrific even in the context of those times and was to Leslie's eternal shame. If he did not given the orders which resulted in the following appalling events, he apparently made no effort to stop them.
400 Irish, seeking refuge at Philiphaugh Farm fought until they were all wiped out. The families of the Irish soldiers were herded up and driven into the compound at Newark Castle. There they were brutally murdered and no one w2as spared. They numbered over 300, almost all women and children.
Montrose's escape route across the hills to Traquair.
The field is known as Slain Men's Lea.
The battle site
is located at O.S. map ref: 73 455 283.
Take
the A707 from Selkirk. After crossing the river turn left on to the
A708. The battle was fought on the haugh, on your left, after
Philiphaugh Farm.
About two miles further along the road, away to the left, you will see
Newark Castle.
The castle can be accessed via Bowhill Country park
The Lost Treasure of Minch Moor.
Away to the west of Philiphaugh is Traquair House and the Earl of
Traquair had been assigned the task of taking to Montrose, at Selkirk,
the wages of his army, Accompanied by a servant, Lord Traquair set off
across Minch Moor with his horse's saddlebags filled with silver coins.
On their way across the moor, they heard, in the distance, the sound of gunfire. At first, Traquair attached little importance to it, thinking it was Montrose exercising his troops. However the firing became prolonged causing Traquair some concern, and, at length, he realised, from the nature of the gunfire, that it was an engagement.
By the time they reached Broadmeadows, some distance on, they were in no doubt as to the cause of the firing. They came, first in twos and threes then in small groups, and the trickle became a torrent, men terrified, flying for their lives a jumbled mass of a beaten army.
Alarmed, Lord Traquair and his companion turned about and joined the fleeing throng, but soon it was apparent that the heavy saddle bags were holding them back. Ploughing uphill, his horse tired and slowed and there was a real danger of them being captured by the pursuing enemy.
Whether is was the servant's idea or Traquair's is not known, but the two men exchanged horses, and the Earl, on a comparatively fresh horse, fled to safety, leaving his companion to fend best he could, with a load of silver on a weary horse.
The facts of the story now become obscure. What is known that the servant survived and appeared unscathed at Traquair House, but without the money bags. His account was that, being closely pursued, he hurled the bags into a deep pool near Tinnis, and made good his escape.
Subsequently, every pool within riding distance was searched over and
over again. There is a pool at Yarrow, near Harehead, into which,
tradition says, the servant flung the silver intending to return and to
retrieve it.
The pool was searched and then drained, but no treasure was found, only
a battle axe. . Some said that the man flung the treasure into a
friend's cottage as he passed from where it was spirited away. A popular
theory was that it fell into the hands of Leslie's men. They certainly
knew of its existence.
A
few silver coins were ploughed up near the river, by Tinnis, and a
quantity of silver plate was found much later, near the battlefield.
They could quite well have belonged to Montrose.
If the treasure had been found, it is unlikely its discovery would have remained a secret.
It could still be there, hidden in the wastes of Minch Moor.