Richard Cameron and the Cameronians: The "Lion of the Covenant"

Introduction

Richard Cameron and his followers, known as the Cameronians, represented the most uncompromising and militant wing of the Covenanter movement.  While many Presbyterians sought "indulgences" (compromises) to avoid government persecution, the Cameronians refused to recognize the authority of any monarch who did not uphold the Covenants. Their defiance during the 1680s shaped the final years of the "Killing Times" and left a lasting mark on both Scottish church history and military tradition.

Richard Cameron: The Lion of the Covenant

Richard Cameron (1648–1680) began his career as an Episcopalian schoolmaster but converted to the Covenanter cause, eventually becoming a field preacher. He was nicknamed the "Lion of the Covenant" due to his fearless preaching and his conviction that the Stuart kings had forfeited their right to rule by violating their oaths to God.

The Sanquhar Declaration (1680)

The defining moment of Cameron’s life occurred on June 22, 1680. He and twenty armed horsemen rode into the town of Sanquhar. They read a declaration at the market cross that was essentially a declaration of war against King Charles II.

• They formally "disowned" the King.

• They declared that he was a tyrant who had breached the "mutual compact" between the ruler and the ruled.

• This was a revolutionary act that preceded the political theories of the "Glorious Revolution" by nearly a decade.

The Battle of Airdsmoss

Following the Sanquhar Declaration, Cameron and his small band of followers became the most wanted men in Scotland. On July 22, 1680, they were cornered at Airdsmoss by a troop of government dragoons.

Before the battle, Cameron famously prayed three times, "Lord, spare the green and take the ripe," referring to the younger men in his company.  Cameron was killed in the skirmish. In a display of the era's brutality, his head and hands were severed and taken to Edinburgh to be displayed as trophies.

The Rise of the Cameronians

Cameron’s death did not end the movement; it fueled it. His followers. officially called the Society People, refused to accept any minister who had compromised with the State.

1. The United Societies: Led by James Renwick (the last Covenanter martyr), they organized into a network of "societies" to maintain their faith in secret.

Their testimony, "The Informatory Vindication", was published in 1687. They quickly became the most pronounced and active adherents of the covenanting faith. They wished to restore the ecclesiastical order which had existed between 1638 and 1649, and were dissatisfied with the moderate character of the religious settlement of 1690. After the religious settlement of 1690, those who could not accept its terms did not join the reconstituted church. Refusing to take oaths of allegiance to an uncovenanted ruler, or to exercise any civil function, they passed through a period of trial and found some difficulty in maintaining a regular ministry, but in 1706 they were reinforced by some converts from the established church. They objected strongly to the proposal for the union of England and Scotland.  They found themselves with no ministers when Alexander Shields and his colleagues joined the Church of Scotland as it was reconstituted following the Revolution, earlier ministers being killed in the field or on the scaffold. Eventually they were joined by John M'Millan and later Thomas Nairn who provided the quorum to constitute a Presbytery. They took the official title of the Reformed Presbytery in 1743 before which they liked to be called the Suffering Remnant of the true Presbyterian Church of Christ in Scotland. In 1712 they publicly renewed their covenants at Auchensaugh Hill in Lanarkshire, and in 1713 their first presbytery was founded at Braehead; a presbytery was formed in North America in 1774. Following an 1863 division, the majority of the body of the Reformed Presbyterians united with the Free Church of Scotland, leaving the tiny minority as the last representatives of the Cameronians; it retains the name of Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland. 

2. The Battle of Dunkeld: After the Glorious Revolution (1688), the Cameronians were called upon to defend the new Protestant government against a Jacobite uprising.  At the Battle of Dunkeld in 1689, they fought with such ferocity that they broke the Jacobite advance, securing the new regime.

The Cameronian Regiment

Following their success at Dunkeld, the Cameronians were formally incorporated into the British Army as the 26th (Cameronian) Regiment of Foot. They were a unique military unit:

• Religious Discipline: For many years, every soldier carried a Bible.

• Covenanter Traditions: They maintained the tradition of "conventicle" style worship, and even into the 20th century, they were the only regiment in the British Army that stood with their weapons during church services, a throwback to the days when they had to be ready for a surprise attack by government dragoons.

Legacy and The Reformed Presbyterian Church

The spiritual descendants of Richard Cameron did not join the established Church of Scotland when it was restored in 1690, as they believed it still allowed too much state interference. Instead, they formed the Reformed Presbyterian Church, which continues to exist today, and from the dissension comes the "United Covenanted Presbyterian Church (Cameronians)", for the 21st century  and beyond. They are often called "Covenanters" because they maintain that the National Covenant and the Solemn League and Covenant are still binding on the British Isles, as does the United Covenanted Presbyterian Church (Cameronians).

Conclusion

Richard Cameron and the Cameronians shifted the Covenanter struggle from a domestic religious protest to a principled political revolution. By asserting that a king’s power is conditional and that the people have a right to resist tyranny, they helped lay the foundation for modern concepts of constitutional liberty.