Anniversary of the Battle of Dunbar

The Battle of Dunbar took place on this date in 1650. 10,000 Scottish soldiers were captured. About 3,500 were released due to injury, illness or weakness. The remaining prisoners of the war were force marched down to Durham where they were to be imprisoned in the Cathedral. An additional 3,500 men died during the journey.

Roughly half of the men imprisoned in the Cathedral died in captivity. Two mass graves containing the bones of some of these men was uncovered in November 2013. More about these men can be found on here: https://www.dur.ac.uk/archaeology/research/projects/europe/pg-skeletons/

The rest of the prisoners were sold or transported to the colonies. The first 150 of these men were taken to London where they boarded the Unity and made their way to Boston Mass. 62 of the 150 men were indentured to the Saugus Iron Works.

These Scottish prisoners were instrumental in the birth of the Iron and Steel industries in North America. For the most part, they were well treated, being given housing, food, beer, clothing and tobacco. Most of the men worked as wood cutters. After the closing of the Iron Works, some of the men went north to Maine where they worked in saw mills.

Saugus Iron Works and the Dunbar Soldiers

Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit the Saugus Iron Works, the birth place of the Iron and Steel industries in North America. Saugus is now a National Park. Several prisoners of war from the Battle of Dunbar (1650) were indentured to the Iron Works. Many of their descendants still live in Massachusetts and Maine today.

My genealogy friends will recall that Jon Cryer had an ancestor that was a prisoner of war from the Battle of Dunbar who was indentured here.

I first became interested in the Dunbar soldiers when I read about the discovery of a mass grave during some construction work at Durham Cathedral. Although I have no known ancestral ties to these men, they have pulled at my heartstrings every since I learned of their story.

The minerals needed for iron production are found in abundance in Saugus and as such it soon became the site of the first successful plant for the integrated production of cast and wrought iron.  In addition to the rich supply of bog iron, the thick forests provided the wood that could be harvested for charcoal for the fires to melt the bog iron.  Gabbro was used as a “flux” to help remove the impurities in the molten bog iron. The water from the Saugus River was diverted to power the water wheel.

The bog iron was melted in the blast furnace at temperatures of 3,000 degrees 

Fahrenheit. The molten iron was poured into sand trenches which cooled it into sow iron. From this iron bars were made and sent to the forge where they were made into wrought iron. Within a couple of years of production, the Iron Works at Saugus rivalled any in Europe. The iron produced here was also shipped throughout Europe from this water terminus.

 In In 1650, at the Battle of Dunbar, the English defeated the Scots. 10,000 Scots were captured. Roughly 4,000 were freed due to age, illness or injure and the remaining 6,000 were force marched from Dunbar to Durham Cathedral, some to110 miles south where they were to be imprisoned. Half of the men died on the journey. Of the 3,000 that were imprisoned at Durham, half died in captivity. The rest were eventually shipped to the colonies. The first 150 were sent to Massachusetts. Sixty-one of these were sold to the Saugus Iron Works.  

The men were provided with housing, food, clothing, liquor and tobacco in exchange for their labour. Most worked as wood cutters. Some were more skilled and were employed in the production of the iron or in smithing the iron. Many of these hard working men went on to be very successful in their new  lives in America.

West to New England

In 1650, at the Battle of Dunbar, the English defeated the Scots. 10,000 Scots were captured and marched from Durham to Newcastle. They were given very little to eat. This was a true story of “survival of the fittest” with many prisoners dying on the way either from disease, or being killed due to disability or inability to keep up with the crowd.

The Scots who did survive, presented a problem for the English, just due to sheer numbers. It was too expensive to house and feed them, but too dangerous to set them free and perhaps allow an uprising.

One week after the battle, England's governing body, the Council of State, turned the prisoner’s over to Sir Arthur Hasenlrigge to be disposed of as he saw fit.  Several of the prisoners had petitioned to be transported overseas. As such, 150 of the fittest were sent down to London, led aboard the “Unity” and transported off to New Hampshire in America. Several weeks later, another 270 were led aboard the “John & Sara” and set sail for Boston.  

The ship’s list of the John & Sara has been transcribed and can be found at:

http://www.us-roots.org/colonialamerica/main/john&sara.html