THE SCOT IN ULSTER
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doubtful whether his force ever reached the stipulated number of 10,000, although it is certain that 4000 men joined it in the autumn of 1642. The arrangement between the two Parliaments had been that the English should pay the Scottish troops; but by the autumn of 1642, England was plunged in civil war, and the money which had been raised for the war in Ireland was seized to carry on war against Charles. [1] The Scottish regiments, therefore, fared very badly, and at times seem to have been driven to live on the country in which they were settled. The campaign of 1643 was not a brilliant one, although ground was recovered. The winter found the troops very discontented; [2] they had received almost no pay since they landed, and when news came of the proposed expedition into England in support of the Parliament, three of the regiments were no longer to be held back, but returned to Scotland against orders. [3] The Ulster settlers were greatly alarmed at the prospect of being left unprotected should the rest of the Scottish troops also go; but fortunately a supply of money and of provisions arrived at Carrickfergus in April 1644--a portion of the food being a free gift of 3000 bolls of meal from the shire of Ayr. About the same time, too, the Dutch showed their sympathy with the cause of Protestantism in Ireland by making a collection in all the churches of Holland...continue reading »
[1] Rushworth, vol. iv. p. 775.
[2] Turner's Memoirs, p. 29.
[3] Reid's History,, vol. i. p. 436.
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Page 78
The Scot in Ulster:
Sketch of the History of the Scottish Population of Ulster
by John Harrison
1888