Battle of Hieton

Plaque commemorating the Battle of the Hieton

The Battle of Hieton was a skirmish fought on the 1 December 1650 between a Covenanter party and an English garrison. The site of the battle was by the Cadzow Burn, near the present day town centre of Hamilton, Scotland.

Following Oliver Cromwell's invasion of Scotland in July 1650, and the defeat of the Scots at Dunbar in September, Scotland was occupied by the New Model Army. An English garrison under General Lambert was stationed at Hamilton, in the Hieton (Scots for 'high town') area of town. Colonel Gilbert Ker led a force of covenanters in a surprise attack on the garrison, but despite initial success by the rebels, the English regrouped and drove them back with heavy losses.

Today the battle site is occupied by Hamilton's Common Green, with the 19th century Cadzow Bridge overhead. A plaque on the bridge commemorates the battle, and was installed by Hamilton Civic Society.

References

• Gazetteer for Scotland: Battle of Hieton

Further reading

• Baillie, Robert; Aiken, Robert (translator) (1775). Letters and Journals: Containing an impartial account of public transactions, Civil, Ecclesiastic, and Military, both in England and Scotland, from 1637 to 1662; a period, perhaps, the most remarkable that is to be met with in the British History : With An Account of the Authors's Life ...,. Vol. 2. Gray. pp. 364, 365. {{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)