The Scots were right in expecting a crushing victory that day but the outcome
was far different from what they had envisaged. Their army was decimated. Within
a single morning, they had suffered over 3,000 dead, 10,000 taken prisoner and
lost over 200 regimental colours. Many of the casualties occurred as the English
cavalry rode down those fleeing the battle. English losses, on the other hand,
were extraordinarily light; Cromwell claiming only 30 were killed, all of whom
were lost in the initial attack.
While Dunbar was commemorated as a glorious victory, the fate of the Scottish
prisoners was one of the less glorious episodes in English military history.
Of the 10,000 captured, half were released immediately due to their wounds or
sickness. Not wanting the others to join up with Leslie and rearm, the rest
were marched 118 miles south to Durham with the aim of sending them to the American
colonies as labour. Given little food or medical help, and prisoners who tried
to escape offered no quarter, only 3,000 staggered into Durham on the 10th of
September. Once there, the food intended for the prisoners was stolen and sold
by their guards so that two months later, only 1,400 were still alive. Of these,
900 were sent to the colonies and 500 indentured to fight in the French army.
While Leslie's guerrilla and scorched earth tactics had certainly been successful
in bringing the English to their knees, they were overcome by Cromwell's careful
planning of the campaign. By organizing for his army to be supplied by sea,
the need for foraging parties was eliminated. As a result, the army could be
kept concentrated, ready for battle instead of split to look for supplies; these
small parties being easy pickings for the Scots.
The superior quality of the English troops and their officers also contributed.
Highly trained and disciplined, by the standards of the day, they were able
to overcome the setbacks of the campaign to rally and overcome a much larger
and confident foe.
The English victory at Dunbar is a classic example of two military doctrines,
those of surprise and the concentration of force. Through careful planning and
discipline, Cromwell moved his forces during the night to be able to burst upon
the Scots at sunrise. The first the Scots knew of an impending attack was when
the English were storming their camp! Without surprise, it is unlikely that
the attack would have succeeded.
By concentrating the attack on the Scottish right, where there was room to maneuver,
Cromwell was able to engage his whole army against a small portion of the Scots.
At the decisive moment, he was then able to throw in his reserves to swing the
battle. The Scottish line, by comparison, was long and unwieldy, unable to meet
a flank attack and bring it's greater numbers to bear.
While the Scots army was devastated, Dunbar did not mark the end of the campaign.
No longer possessing the numbers necessary to defend his fortifications, Leslie
fell back to the easily defended Stirling with 4000 survivors of the battle.
Here he quickly set about strengthening its defenses, rearming the survivors
and raising fresh troops.
No longer defended, Leith and Edinburgh quickly fell although Edinburgh castle
held out until late December. The war was to continue for another year until
exactly 12 months later, on 3rd September 1651, Charles II and his Scots army
was surrounded and destroyed by Cromwell at Worchester as they made a daring
dash to take London.
Firth, C. H. Cromwell's Army: A history of the English Soldier during
the Civil Wars, the Commonwealth and the Protectorate, Melhuen & Co.
Ltd., London, 1962
Fraser A. Cromwell: Our Chief of Men, Arrow Books Ltd., London,
1973
Gentles I. The New Model Army in England, Ireland and Scotland, 1645-1653,
Blackwell Publishers, Oxford, 1992
Reid S. All the King's Armies: A Military History of the English
Civil Wars, 1642-1651, Spellmont Ltd., Stapehurst, 1948
Rogers H. C. B. Battles and Generals of the Civil Wars, 1642-1651,
Seeley Jervic & Co. Ltd., London, 1968
Young P., Holmes R. The English Civil War: A Military History of
the Three Civil Wars, 1642-1651, Eyre Methuen, London, 1974
