Tour Scotland Photograph Sir James Ramsay Gravestone Alyth Perthshire

Tour Scotland photograph of the Sir James Ramsay of Bamff gravestone in the old churchyard cemetery in Alyth, Perthshire, Scotland. The Ramsays held the lands at Bamff from 1232, Nessus de Ramsay having been physician to King Alexander II; his descendant, Alexander Ramsay was physician to both James VI and Charles I. It was his son, Gilbert who was made baronet in 1666 in recognition of his bravery at the The Battle of Rullion Green in the Pentland Hills, in Lothian, on 28 November 1666 which was the culmination of the brief Pentland Rising, from 15 to 28 November 1666. At least 3000 men of the Scottish Royal Army led by Tam Dalyell of the Binns opposed about 900 Covenanter rebels. The Pentland Rising was in the context of the long running government campaign to impose episcopalianism upon Scotland. The uprising began in St. John’s Town of Dalry, where troops were beating an elderly man who had defaulted on a fine for not attending government approved church services. The troops were interrupted by four covenanters and then supported by the local populace, who disarmed the soldiers. Robert McClellan of Barscobe led the Rising; he gathered some men in Dalry, led them to Balmaclellan, where after a skirmish with other troops, he raised more men. McClellan led them to Dumfries, and there they captured the local commander, General James Turner, at 5.30 in the morning, still in his nightshirt, in his lodgings on the Whitesands. McClellan, aided by Neilson of Corsock, took the gathering force up to Ayrshire, thence to Lanarkshire, and then to Colinton near Edinburgh, on their way to present their petition to the Parliament. Many deserted the group following bad weather, a poor choice of routes and the news received at Colinton that they could not expect a sympathetic reception in Edinburgh. From a peak of perhaps 3000 men the force had diminished by half at Colinton, and then further dispersed as the group headed home towards Galloway. The rebels included experienced professional soldiers as well as citizenry, and were commanded by Colonel James Wallace of Auchens. The rebel forces decided to hold a parade and review by Colonel Wallace at Rullion Green in the Pentland Hills. General Tam Dalyell of the Binns was with a force in Currie, and cut through the Pentland Hills to confront the rebels. The survivors were treated with cruelty; 15, including Neilson of Corsock, were hanged, drawn and quartered, and several, including two boys of 18, were tortured first with the boot.



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