| Clan Montgomery | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| MacGumerait[1] | |||
 Crest: A lady (Judith, of the Bible) dressed in ancient apparel Azure holding in her dexter hand an anchor and in her sinister hand the head of a savage (Holofernes) couped suspended by the hair all Proper | |||
| Motto | Garde bien (Watch well)[1] | ||
| Profile | |||
| Region | Lowlands | ||
| Chief | |||
 | |||
| Hugh Archibald William Montgomerie | |||
| The 19thEarl of Eglinton and 7thEarl of Winton | |||
| Seat | Balhomie,Perthshire.[2] | ||
| Historic seat | Eglinton Castle | ||
| |||
| |||
| |||
Clan Montgomery (alsoMontgomerie) is aScottish clan of theScottish Lowlands.
The Montgomeries (descended from the Norman EarlRoger de Montgomery) emigrated fromWales toScotland in the 12th century with theFitzAlans.[3][4] The Cambro-Norman family derives itssurname from lands in Wales, likely from theHonour of Montgomery which was located near theShropshire lands of the FitzAlans.[4][5] It is disputed, but there is evidence of a direct connection between Clan Montgomery and the family of theCounts de Montgomerie,Earls of Shrewsbury, ofAnglo-Norman origin who derived their surname from lands inCalvados, Normandy.[3][4] The surname was shortened to de Montgomerie after 1015 before becoming de Montgomerie of Eaglesham shortly after 1120.
The earliest member of the clan in Scotland was Robert of Montgomery, and the earliest possessions of the clan (in Scotland) wasEaglesham, inRenfrewshire.[4] Members of the clan are recorded in the late 13th centuryRagman Rolls, but it is not until the 14th century when the family rose in prominence, through a dynastic marriage with the Eglinton family. Through this marriage the clan acquired the Eglinton estates; the clan also acquired the lands of the Ardrossan family (which was possibly a branch of theBarclay family).[3]
In 1296 John de Montgomery and his brother are recorded on theRagman Rolls rendering homage toEdward I of England.[6] A later Sir John Montgomery was one of the heroes at theBattle of Otterburn in 1388 where the English were defeated.[6] He capturedHenry (Hotspur) Percy and the Percy family paid a great ransom for his release.[6] The money enabled Montgomery to build thePolnoon Castle.[6]
In 1488 Hugh Montgomery, the third Lord Montgomery was on the victors side at theBattle of Sauchieburn,[6] andAlexander Cunningham, 1st Earl of Glencairn slain with the defeated James III. Montgomery was rewarded with the grant for life of theIsle of Arran as well as ballie of Bute and Cunningham.[6] However Cunningham was claimed by the Cunninghams of Glencairn (chiefs ofClan Cunningham), and feud arose between the two clans in which the Cunninghams burnt down Montgomery's Eglinton Castle.[6] Cunningham'sKerelaw Castle was also burned down.
During the 16th century the long-running feud continued. Edward Cunningham of Auchenharvie was slain in 1526 and Archibald Cunningham of Waterstoun in 1528;[7] the Montgomery'sEglinton Castle was burned down by the Cunninghams in the same year. In April 1586, Hugh Montgomery, 4th Earl of Eglinton, aged twenty-four, was travelling toStirling to join the Court having been commanded to attend by the King, accompanied only by a few domestic servants. He stopped atLainshaw Castle to dine with his close relative, a Montgomery, the Lord of Lainshaw, whose Lady was a Margaret Cunningham of Aiket Castle, with sisters married to John Cunningham of Corsehill andDavid Cunninghame of Robertland.[8] It seems that a plot to kill the Earl had been organised and the Lady, or some say a servant girl who was also a Cunningham,[7] climbed to the battlements after the meal to hang out a white table napkin and thereby sprung the trap. Thirty Cunninghames attacked the Earl as he crossed Annick Ford and cut his servants to pieces; the Earl himself was dispatched with a single shot from the pistol of John Cunningham ofClonbeith Castle. His horse carried his dead body along the side of the river, still known as the 'Weeping', 'Mourning' or 'Widows' path. Upon discovering the murder, the Montgomerys killed every Cunningham that they found.[6] A wave of bloody revenge swept over Cunninghame and elsewhere. Cunningham relatives, friends and supporters were killed without mercy. Aiket was killed near his home; Robertland and Corsehill escaped to Denmark. Clonbeith was traced to a house in Hamilton, possibly Hamilton Palace[9] and hacked to pieces by Robert Montgomery and John Pollock. Robert also killed the Earl of Glencairn's brother the Commendator of Kilwinning Abbey, Alexander of Montgreenan, thought to have instigated Hugh's murder. He rode to Montgreenan and shot the Commendator at his own gate.[10]
The government of KingJames VI of Scotland eventually managed to make the chiefs of the two clans shake hands. In 1661 Lord High Chancellor William Cunningham, 9th Earl of Glencairn, married Margaret Montgomery, daughter of Alexander, 6th Earl of Eglinton, drawing a line under the feud.
The 2nd Earl of Eglinton led the Clan Montgomery in support ofMary, Queen of Scots, at theBattle of Langside in 1568, where the Queen was defeated.[6] The Earl was declared guilty of treason and imprisoned inDoune Castle but was later released upon accepting James VI.[6]
.png)
In 1600 theClan MacAlister attacked the Clan Montgomery. They seized everything belonging to the Chief John Montgomery of Skelmorlie including £12,000 worth of possessions. Two years later, chief Archibald MacAlister along with Angus Og MacDonald carried out a similar attack on the inhabitants of the Isle of Bute against theClan Stuart. A year afterwards Archibald MacAlister and Angus Og MacDonald were accused of being rebels, charged with treason and hanged in Edinburgh Tollbooth.
When the second Earl of Eglintoun, chief of Clan Montgomery was released after the battle of Langside he had tried to secure the safety and toleration of Catholics in the wake of the Reformation. Ironically his daughter Lady Margaret married Robert Seton of theClan Seton, the 1stEarl of Winton who was a loyal Covenanter during the Civil War and did not accept the religious policies ofCharles I of England.[6] He did however acceptCharles II of England and was made a colonel of the King's Lifeguard of Cavalry.[6] He was later captured at Dumbarton and was not released unto after the restoration in 1660.[6]
Their son, Alexander Seton took his mother's maiden name of Montgomery and became the 6th Earl of Eglintoun. He was a Protestant supporter of King Charles II. He was imprisoned byGeneral Monck for his Royalist sympathies in 1659.
In 1628 another branch of the Scottish Montgomeries settled in the north ofCounty Donegal inUlster,Ireland and1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein came from this line.
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries many Montgomeries served abroad in Continental armies, including those ofSweden,France,Kingdom of Denmark,Russia andBrandenburg-Prussian Army as mercenaries.
During the Jacobite Uprisings the Clan Montgomery supported the British government. The clan chief and 9th Earl of Eglinton was on the Privy Council of King William and Queen Anne of the United Kingdom. In 1715 during the first rebellion the chief of Clan Montgomery, 9th Earl was involved in training soldiers for the government.
In 1757Archibald Montgomerie, 11th Earl and chief of Clan Montgomery raised the British77th Regiment of Foot from members of the Montgomery clan, along with other clans. This regiment, underGeneral Forbes, builtFort Pitt which eventually developed intoPittsburgh.
During theAmerican Revolutionary War, GeneralRichard Montgomery fought for theContinental Army, leading part of theInvasion of Quebec. Montgomery's expedition capturedMontreal in November. After this, Montgomery joinedBenedict Arnold's forces beforeQuebec City. The combined forceassaulted the city on 31 December. The battle was a disastrous defeat for the Continental Army and Montgomery was killed. Many of the places named "Montgomery" in the USA (seeMontgomery) are named after Richard Montgomery.
Perhaps the most famous of all the Montgomerys wasField MarshalBernard Montgomery, 1stViscount Montgomery of Alamein, who was a seniorBritish Armyofficer during theSecond World War.
Bernard Montgomery, nicknamed "Monty", was born into anUlster Scots 'Ascendancy' family fromInishowen, from a line of Scottish Montgomerys who settled inUlster in the north ofIreland in 1628.
During theWestern Desert campaign of the Second World War, Montgomery commanded theBritish Eighth Army from August 1942, through theSecond Battle of El Alamein and on to the finalAlliedvictory in Tunisia in May 1943.
He subsequently commanded the British Eighth Army during theAllied invasion of Sicily and theAllied invasion of Italy and was in command of all Allied ground forces during theBattle of Normandy (Operation Overlord), fromD-Day on 6 June 1944 until 1 September 1944. He then continued in command of the21st Army Group for the rest of theNorth West Europe campaign, includingOperation Market Garden, theBattle of the Bulge, andOperation Plunder.
By the end of the war, troops under Montgomery's command had taken part in the encirclement of theRuhr Pocket, liberated the Netherlands, and captured much of north-west Germany. On 4 May 1945, Montgomery accepted theGerman surrender at Lüneburg Heath.
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)