Battle of Bothwell Bridge The Battle of Bothwell Bridge , or Bothwell Brig , took place on 22 June 1679 . It was fought between government troops and militant Presbyterian Covenanter s , and signalled the end of their brief rebellion . The battle took place at the bridge over the River Clyde in Hamilton , South Lanarkshire near Bothwell in Lanarkshire , Scotland . The battlefield has been included in the Inventory of Historic Battlefields in Scotland and protected by Historic Scotland under the Historic Environment ( Amendment ) Act 2011 . Background . Following the Restoration of King Charles II , the Presbyterians in Scotland were increasingly persecuted for their beliefs , and a small armed rising had to be put down in 1666 . Although some Presbyterian ministers were " Indulged " by the government from 1669 , allowing them to retain their churches without having to accept Episcopacy , the more hard - line elements continued to hold illegal outdoor meetings , known as conventicles . These were often broken up by squads of government dragoon s , including those led by John Graham of Claverhouse . On 1 June 1679 , Claverhouse had encountered such a gathering near Loudoun Hill , but his troops were routed by armed Covenanters , and he was forced to flee to Glasgow . Following this initial success , remembered as the battle of Drumclog , the Covenanters spent the next few weeks building their strength , as did the government . Charles ' son James , Duke of Monmouth was sent north to take command , and the militia were raised . The battle . The Covenanters had established their camp on the south bank of the Clyde , north of Hamilton . The rebels numbered around 6000 men , but were poorly disciplined and deeply divided by religious disagreements . They had few competent commanders , being nominally led by Robert Hamilton of Preston , although his rigid stance against the Indulged ministers only encouraged division . The preacher Donald Cargill and William Cleland , the victor of Drumclog , were present , as were David Hackston of Rathillet and John Balfour of Kinloch , known as Burley , who were among the group who murdered Archbishop Sharp on 3 May . The government army numbered around 5000 regular troops and militia , and was commanded by Monmouth , supported by Claverhouse and the Earl of Linlithgow . The royalist troops were massed on the northern or Bothwell bank of the river Clyde on sloping ground that included a field that has since become known , ironically enough , as the Covenanters Field - not because the battle was fought there but because for many years it was the venue for a covenanters conventicle organised by the Scottish Covenanters Memorial Association . In fact , battle centred on the narrow bridge across the Clyde , the passage of which Monmouth was required to force in order to come at the Covenanters . Hackston led the defence of the bridge and had some initial success in the initial skirmishes at the bridge itself . But his men lacked artillery and ammunition , and were forced to withdraw after around an hour . Once Monmouth ' s men were across the bridge , the Covenanters were quickly routed . Many fled into the parks of nearby Hamilton Palace , seat of Duchess Anne , who was sympathetic to the Presbyterian cause , and it was in this area that the final engagements took place . The numbers of covenanters who were killed varies widely with estimates ranging from 7 - 700 according to the Scottish Battles Gazetteer . Around Some 1200 were taken prisoner . Aftermath . The prisoners were taken to Edinburgh and held on land beside Greyfriars Kirkyard , an area now known as the Covenanters ' Prison . Many remained there for several months , until the last of them were transported to the colonies in November . All those who had taken part on the Covenanter side of the battle were declared rebels and traitors , and the repression during this period has become known as " the Killing Time " in Covenanter histories . A core of hard - line rebels remained in arms , and became known as the Cameronians after Richard Cameron their leader . Cameron was killed in a skirmish at Airds Moss the next year , but his followers were eventually pardoned on the accession of King William III in 1689 . Memorials . The battle is a central event in Sir Walter Scott ' s 1816 novel , " Old Mortality " . Scott fictionalises the battle and the events leading up to it , introducing real people who were not actually present , such as General Tam Dalyell , as well as his own fictional characters . However , his description of the flow of the battle is considered accurate . In 1903 , on the 224th anniversary of the battle , a monument was dedicated on the site . This stands beside Bothwell Bridge , which was largely rebuilt in the 19th century . Thomson , J . H ( 1875 ) The Martyr Graves of Scotland