AN ACADEMIC has followed in the footsteps of 17th-century Scottish prisoners of war who were put through a 100-mile death march.

Hundreds of captives taken at the Battle of Dunbar died at Durham Cathedral, where they were held in horrific conditions by Oliver Cromwell’s army.

Some of the survivors were eventually sent around the world, including to the US, settling in New England.

Megan Olshefski has spent years researching the hour-long bloody battle and the week-long march south to Durham that followed.

The 29-year-old Californian followed the route from Dunbar forced on the 4,000 soldiers, crossing the border at Berwick-upon-Tweed, then on to Alnwick, in Northumberland.

East Lothian Courier: Dr Anwen Caffell of Durham University with some of the remains of the 17th century Scottish soldiers found in Durham UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture: North News and Pictures.Dr Anwen Caffell of Durham University with some of the remains of the 17th century Scottish soldiers found in Durham UNESCO World Heritage Site. Picture: North News and Pictures. (Image: North News and Pictures.)

Setting out on the day of the battle, September 3, Megan arrived in Durham on Saturday,  September 9.

Before the walk, she said: “I plan, where possible, to spend each night on the site of each stopover and follow a traditional 17th-century Scottish diet of the period, which includes oats, peas, fish, brassica and kale.

“Conditions in the cathedral were truly horrific for captives, whose ages ranged from just 15 to their mid-20s.

“They used the east end of the cathedral as a toilet and slept when and where they could in the west end.

“My intention in making this trip is to honour all those involved – particularly the ones who did not survive.”

When the famished troops reached Morpeth, they took cabbages and root vegetables from walled gardens after days without food.
Via a stop in Newcastle, about 3,000 were eventually kept prisoner at Durham Cathedral and were held there for months.

They were kept in squalor, with diseases spreading in the cramped conditions, and they faced starvation, hypothermia and murderous squabbles over possessions.

Just 1,600 prisoners-of-war survived, with the remains of those who died buried around the cathedral – only to be discovered during building work 10 years ago.

Ms Olshefski, who is studying for a doctorate in Durham University’s department of archaeology, has almost completed her research into the captives’ struggles.

She first became immersed in the soldiers’ story when she was a researcher and producer on the American equivalent of British television programme Who Do You Think You Are?, when an episode tracked the life of one survivor.

Research into the poignant piece of history has been followed by Americans who are fiercely proud of their Scottish heritage. Some plan to relive their ancestors’ story by visiting Scotland and north-east England.

The Battle of Dunbar was one of the shortest and most brutal battles of the 17th-century civil wars.

In less than an hour, the English Parliamentarian army, under the command of Oliver Cromwell, defeated the Scottish Covenanters army, which supported the claims of Charles II to the Scottish throne.