Battle site of Airds Moss (1680) ***

Region: Ayrshire & Arran

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Monument & martyr's grave © Copyright Walter Baxter and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.                                         

Description:

Airds Moss is the extensive moorland that stretches north-east of Cumnock towards Muirkirk. On Airds Moss stands a squat obelisk and a flat gravestone within railings.

A small battle between the Covenanters under Rev Richard Cameron and the government soldiers under Sir Andrew Bruce of Earlshall took place on 22 July 1680. The struggle was short but desperate. Cameron himself was killed in the thick of the fray, as well as his brother and seven others. Five, also, were sore wounded and taken prisoners, while the rest escaped over the moss, where the cavalry could not pursue them. The prisoners were taken to Edinburgh, and there hanged.