This blog is about my ancestors (10th great grandfathers) Mackum/Malcolm Downing and Alexander Innes. Two scottsmen soldiers who faught in the Battle of Dunbar on September 3, 1650.

The Battle of Dunbar  was a battle of the Third English Civil War . The English Parliamentarian forces under Oliver Cromwell defeated a Scottish army commanded by David Leslie which was loyal to King Charles II, who had been proclaimed King of Scots on 5 February 1649. military-history.fandom.com

Mackum and Alexander became prisoners of the english at the battle of Dunbar. These prisoners (thousands) were marched for five days without food. Those who could not walk or tried to escape, were killed. Many died after eating cabbage (dirt and all) along the way. We know now that eating too much after starvation can be deadly. The surviving men were marched on, until reaching the the Durham Cathedral in England. Legend has it, that the prisoners burned everything they could in the cathedral to keep warm. Except the thistle clock. Since the thistle is a Scottish symbol.https://assets.pinterest.com/ext/embed.html?id=541980136396962326&src=oembedhttps://www.pinterest.com/pin/541980136396962326/

After months of being imprisoned in the Durham Cathedral where many men and young boys age 12 and up died, my ancestors were put on a ship called the “unity” with 48 other men, shipped and sold to Saugus Iron Works in Saugus Massachusetts. They were eventually endentured and worked out their time. Both married and had several children. Mackum married Margaret Sullivan. Alexander married Katherine Briggs. My lines are through Mackum’s daughter Priscilla Downing and through Alexander’s daughter Elizabeth Ruth Innes. Both men never returning to Scotland, instead living their lives out in the State of Massachusetts.

www.worldhistory.org › video › 2707Battle of Dunbar 1650 – Third English Civil War – World …

spows.org › battle-of-dunbarAbout the Battle of Dunbar | Scottish Prisoners of War Society