| Notes |
- 1 - March 16th 1646
In 1646 in Scotland there was still fighting between supporters of the King and the Presbyterian army. Hearing that the Presbyterians under General Middleton were advancing from Stirling, a party of about fifty men led by Lord Napier, Montrose' brother-in-law, occupied the castle of Kincardine in Montrose' name. It was from the start a futile enterprise as Middleton had an army of almost three thousand men and had brought up much heavy artillery from Stirling.
After eight days it became obvious that the fall of the castle was imminent and Lord Napier, with his cousin George Drummond of Balloch, slipped out of the castle in the darkness to a guide who was waiting for them with horses. Quietly they passed through enemy lines and made their way northwards to join Montrose.
[http://www.perthshirediary.com/html/day0316.html]
2 - A writer well acquainted with the civil history of Orkney gives the following graphic description of the arrival of Montrose :-" A sharp lookout was kept as the appointed time for his arrival drew near; and one day early in March the beacon-fires gave warning that ships were in sight and approaching the islands. The town of Kirkwall presented a busy scene as the levies hurried in from the neighbouring parishes; and the soldiers laboured hard to give the good old town somewhat of a warlike appearance, by mounting some great guns on the towers of the bishop's palace and on the rampier at the shore. This was absolutely necessary, as the town had been frequently attacked and plundered by English cruisers. The fears entertained as to the character of the approaching ships were set at rest when they entered the bay and made the preconcerted signals." The Marquis himself was on board a small frigate which had been presented to him by the Queen of Sweden. He was accompanied by several officers, among whom were his own brother, Henry Graham, Lord Fendraught, General Urry, Colonel Hay, Majors Dalgetty and Whitford, and Sir George Drummond of Balloch.
Sir George Drummond of Balloch, who was apprehended in Orkney, was brought over and shot at a post in Caithness. [Another source claims it was his son George who was executed-Ed.]
(http://www.caithness.org/history/historyofcaithness/chapter10/)
3 - Author Menteith, in his History of the Troubles, notes that when Montrose was under arms for the King in 1645 "the clans of Mackgregor and Macknab, with a good number of the Farquharsons of the shire of Mar" joined him at Fordoun in 1645. In the following year JOHN MACNAB, with his clan and with Lord Napier and Drummond of Balloch, garrisoned Montrose's patrimonial Castle of Kincardine for the King. Hearing of this, Major-General Sir John Middleton surrounded the castle with a body of infantry and cavalry as well as a battering train from Sterling, and trained the guns on the castle from the opposite side of the glen. For 14 days the Macnabs held out and defended the castle, until the concussion of their firearms caused the water in the castle's well to subside. On the night of March 14, cutting their way through Middleton's guards, they escaped from the castle to join Montrose.
(http://www.hope-of-israel.org/i000066a.htm)
4 - Sir George was widower of Agnes Napier when he married Marjory Graham and had issue by both his wives.
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- Bef 1659