LANGSIDE, a village, in the parish of Cathcart,
Upper ward of the county of Renfrew, 1^ miles (S. W.
by S.) from Glasgow; containing 1*25 inhabitants. This
village is situated on the road from Glasgow to Ayr, and
is ever memorable for the battle which took place in its
immediate vicinity between the forces of the regent Murray
and those of Mary, Queen of Scots, and which decided
the fate of that unfortunate sovereign. The particulars
of this battle are shortly these. The Earl of
Murray, learning the resolution of Mary to march from
Hamilton to Dumbarton, immediately drew up his army
on the moor beside Glasgow, with a view to watch her
movements, and if possible bring her troops to an
engagement. The moment he became aware that the
queen's forces kept the south side of the Clyde, he gave
orders that his horsemen should ford that river, while
the rest crossed it by a neighbouring bridge; and these
movements were scarcely completed when Mary's vanguard
appeared and the battle commenced. For a time
the conflict was doubtful; but at length the queen's ranks
were broken by Murray's chief leaders, and irretrievably
thrown into confusion. Murray himself, who had
hitherto stood with a part of his troops on the defensive,
contenting himself with repulsing the enemy's
cavalry, which was far superior in numbers and equipment
to his own, now seized the moment to charge with
the main division; and the flight became general. This
decisive engagement lasted but thrce-cjuarters of an hour:
on the queen's side there were about 300 slain, or, according
to some accounts, only half that number; while on
the regent's, merely a single soldier fell. Previous to
the conflict, Mary had taken her station upon an eminence
half a mile distant, which commanded a view of
the field; and here, surrounded by a small suite, she
watched the vicissitudes of the fight. At last, when
Murray's charge took ])lacc, she fled with great precipitation,
and at full speed, in the direction of Dumfries,
nor did she venture to delay in her progress until she
found herself in the abbey of Dundrennan, sixty miles
from the field. Though formerly of much greater extent,
the village now consists only of a few scattered
houses; the neighbourhood is enriched with wood, and
the surrounding scenery, which is naturally picturesf|ue,
derives a peculiar degree of interest from the recollection
of events with which it is associated.