Battle of Stirling (1648)

Battle of Stirling
Part of the Scotland in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
Stirling Castle
Date 12 September 1648 Location Stirling, Scotland Coordinates: 56°07′23″N 3°56′46″W / 56.123°N 3.946°W / 56.123; -3.946 Result Engager Victory
Belligerents
Engager Covenanter forces under the Earl of Lanark	Kirk Party Covenanter forces under Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll
Commanders and leaders
George Munro, 1st of Newmore	A Mackenzie commander
Strength
Unknown	Around 1,000 soldiers
Casualties and losses
Unknown	According to Keltie: nearly 200 killed. According to Wheeler: as many as 700 killed.
Location within Scotland

The second Battle of Stirling was fought on the 12 September 1648 during the Scottish Civil War of the 17th century.

The Battle of Stirling in 1648 was part of the War of the Three Kingdoms. By this time, the Presbyterian Covenanter movement had defeated the Scottish Royalists, who favoured unconditional loyalty to King Charles I.

The Independent party in the English Parliament and the English New Model Army posed a threat to the Solemn League and Covenant and the aspirations of the Scots and the English Presbyterians to secure a Presbyterian church north and south of the border.

One faction of the Covenanters entered into an engagement with Charles I who agreed to sign the National Covenant in exchange for Scottish help to him and the English Presbyterians against the English Independents in the Second English Civil War. Those that supported this engagement between the King became known as Engagers.

The Engagers army under the command of the Duke of Hamilton was defeated by the New Model Army under the command of Oliver Cromwell at the Battle of Preston (1648).

Those Covenanters who had opposed the Engagement, seized the opportunity presented by the loss of credibility suffered by the Engagers and launched the Whiggamore Raid which led to their successful capture of Edinburgh. This initiated the short civil war between the Engagers and their opponents known as the Kirk party.

The Earl of Lanark, younger brother of the Duke of Hamilton, had been left to defend Scotland against Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll, a covenanter and a leading member of the Kirk party who was now in open rebellion against the Scottish parliament, over their Engagement with King Charles.