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fiercely independent Scots were once again called to defend
their boundaries and their national identity. Out of the
nationalist fervor emerged the Presbyterian Covenanters, an
impassioned group ready to give their lives for their religious
beliefs and political freedoms. For over 100 years the
Presbyterian Covenanters would continue to fuel a rebellion
of raids and battles to defend the faith and prevent
Scotland’s union with England. They went forth in confidence
and stood silently among the crumbling fabrics of centuries of
superstition and had faith in one another.
In June of 1679 the Covenanters, 6000 strong, came
together at Hamilton to organize a defense against the
English advance into Scotland. Meanwhile the English Duke
of Monmouth mustered by the Clyde Bridge at Bothwell with
10,000 men.