Battle of Tippermuir 1644
Aug 30 James Graham, 1st Marquis of Montrose, the King's Lieutenant-Governor in Scotland, raised his standard at Blair Atholl to begin his campaign in the name of the King against the Covenanters.

Four miles to the west of Perth in Scotland lies the village of Tippermuir. Montrose's rather pitiful band of men marched towards Perth. They were poorly armed and lacked food. The Highlanders numbered 3,000 with only 3 horses.
Sep 1

They arrived at Tippermuir and found a large force of Covenanters under the command of Lord Elcho.

 Elcho had 6000 infantry, 800 cavalry and 9 cannon, but the experienced soldiers of the Scottish army were fighting in England with the Parliamentarian armies.
The Covenanters lined up at the bottom of Methven Hill - 400 cavalry on the left (Sir James Scott of Rossie), the infantry in the middle under Sir James Murray of Gask, and 400 cavalry on the right (Elcho).

The Highlanders faced them - 400 archers on the left (Lord Kilpoint) with the Lochaber men with their axes, the Irish in the centre and Montrose on the left.

 Many of the Burghers from Perth came out to watch what they thought would be an easy victory.
Montrose sent out the Master of Madertie under the flag of truce to parley, and ask for a postponement so they did not fight on the Sabbath. He was captured and the Covenanters claimed that they had the "choice of the Lord's Day for doing the Lord's work".

Elcho sent forward on the Covenanters' right a party of 2 troops of horse and 160 foot to harass the Highlanders' line. Macdonald sent 120 men forward to halt it - which they did, and pushed Drummond's cavalrymen back into their main force.

Montrose ordered his men to advance. The cannon were immediately overwhelmed and the charge continued into Elcho's musketeers behind. The Irish attacked the centre with such ferocity that the inexperienced Covenanters started to move backwards. Shortly this turned into a full rout and the road back to Perth was soon full of soldiers fleeing from the carnage of the battle. Only on the left was there any resistance. Sir James Scott rallied his men and led them to some ruined cottages nearby. They never made it and they were cut off by Montrose's men from Atholl.

 Montrose speech to his men before the battle :

"Gentlemen: it is true you have no arms; your enemy, however, to all appearance, have plenty. My advice to you therefore is that as there happens to be a great abundance of stones upon this moor, every man should provide himself, in the first place, with as stout a one as he can manage, rush up to the first Covenanter he meets, beat out his brains, take his sword, and then I believe he will be at no loss how to proceed!".
Now the slaughter really began. Many more were killed while fleeing than were slain on the field of battle. Some of the townsfolk were killed as they were caught up in the carnage. 2,000 Covenanters were killed in the rout and flight from battle and 1,000 prisoners were taken. Only a couple of Highlanders were killed.
The town of Perth surrendered and Montrose entered. His next target - Aberdeen, but his forces were diminished by the Highlanders going home with their booty, leaving only the Irish.
Royalist (Highlanders) : Montrose, Alasdair MacDonald, Lord Kilpont, Lord Rollo

Parliamentarian (Covenanters) : Lord Elcho, James Murray, Sir James Scott, Lord Drummond, Captain David Grant

 Alasdair MacDonald  is often called Alasdair MacColla or Colkitto. He brought a force of exiled MacDonalds and MacLeans from Antrim.
Tippermuir was a significant victory for Montrose and the Highlanders against overwhelming odds. The wild and ferocious attack by the shrieking (but experienced) Irish and the stone-throwing Highlanders unnerved the inexperienced forces of the Covenanters who were soon put to flight. After the battle at a celebratory banquet hosted by Montrose, James Stewart of Ardvorlich killed his best friend, Lord Kilpont, with a dirk. Kilpont was a Graham and a relation of the Marquis. Ardvorlich then took off, no doubt very quickly, and joined the Covenanting army where he was commissioned with the rank of Major. The body of the murdered Lord was taken to Monteith and interred in the Chapter House of the Priory of Inchmahome. Kilpont's widow naturally was quite distraught and swore a blood feud between the Grahams and the Stewarts. The reasons given for the murder are unknown but are offered in the chapter on the Stewarts.