Two miles to the east of the hill lies the little hamlet and farm of Drumclog, even now but sparsely covered with coarse meadow-grass, and then no more than a barren stretch of swampy moorland.  South and north the ground sloped gently down towards a marshy bottom through which ran a stream, or dyke, fringed with stunted alder-bushes.  On the foot of the southern slope, across the dyke, the Covenanters were drawn up; and the practised eye of Claverhouse saw at a glance that they had gathered there not to pray but to fight.  “When we came in sight of them,” he wrote to Linlithgow, “we found them drawn up in battle upon a most advantageous ground, to which there was no coming but through mosses and lakes.  They were not preaching, and had got away all their women and children."[24] They were ranged in three lines:  those who had firearms being placed nearest to the dyke, behind them a body of pikemen, and in the rear the rest, armed with scythes set on poles, pitchforks, goads and other such rustic weapons.  On either flank was a small body of mounted men.  Hamilton was in command:  Burley had charge of the horse; and among others present that day was William Cleland, then but sixteen years old, and destined ten years later to win a nobler title to fame by a glorious death at the head of his Cameronians in the memorable defence of Dunkeld.

As usual, it is impossible to estimate with any exactness the strength of either side.  According to one of their own party, who was present, the Covenanters did not exceed two hundred and fifty fighting men, of whom fifty were mounted and the same proportion armed with guns.  These numbers have been accepted, of course, by Wodrow, and also by Dr. Burton.  But within a week this handful had, on Hamilton’s own testimony, grown to six thousand horse and foot; and though, no doubt, the success at Drumclog would have materially swelled the Covenanting ranks, if they were only two hundred and fifty on that day, the most liberal calculation can hardly accept the numbers said to have been gathered on Glasgow Moor six days later.  Probably, if we increase the former total and diminish the latter, we shall get nearer the mark; but it is impossible to do more than conjecture.  Sharpe, in the fragment printed by Napier, rates Hamilton’s force at six hundred.  Claverhouse’s own estimate was “four battalions of foot, and all well armed with fusils and pitchforks, and three squadrons of horse.”  His experience was more likely to serve him in such matters than the untrained calculations of men who were, moreover, naturally concerned to magnify the defeat of the King’s troops as much as possible; while it is clear from the tone of his own despatch, which is singularly literal and straightforward, that he had no wish, and did not even conceive it necessary, to excuse his disaster.  But here again the estimate helps us little, owing to the vague use of the terms battalion and squadron.  For the same reason we can but guess at the strength of the royal