James Johnstone, 1st Earl of Hartfell (1602 – April 1653) was a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 peer and royalist

Cavalier

Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...

.

Background

He was the only son of Sir James Johnstone, the Warden of the West Marches

Lord Warden of the Marches

The Lord Warden of the Marches was an office in the governments of Scotland and England. The holders were responsible for the security of the border between the two nations, and often took part in military action....

 and his wife Sarah, sister of William Maxwell, 5th Lord Herries of Terregles. After the murder of his father by John Maxwell, 8th Lord Maxwell in 1608, Johnstone, aged six, succeeded to the barony of Newby. In 1623, King James I of England was able to determine the feud between the two families.

Career

At King Charles's I of England

Charles I of England

Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

 coronation on 20 June 1633, Johnstone was elevated to the Peerage of Scotland

Peerage of Scotland

The Peerage of Scotland is the division of the British Peerage for those peers created in the Kingdom of Scotland before 1707. With that year's Act of Union, the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England were combined into the Kingdom of Great Britain, and a new Peerage of Great Britain was...

 as Lord Johnstone of Lochwood. From 1637, he represented the Covenanter

Covenanter

The Covenanters were a Scottish Presbyterian movement that played an important part in the history of Scotland, and to a lesser extent in that of England and Ireland, during the 17th century...

 in the court and in the next year, he took part in the General Assembly in Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

. Johnstone raised a regiment in the Second Bishops' War in 1640, however was not involved in the fightings. On 8 March 1643, he was further honoured with the titles Lord Johnston of Lochwood, Moffatdale and Evandale and Earl of Hartfell. Johnstone supported the king in the English Civil War

English Civil War

The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

 and was imprisoned at Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle

Edinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear...

 by the Committee of Estates

Committee of Estates

The Committee of Estates governed Scotland during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms when the Parliament of Scotland was not sitting. It was dominated by Covenanters of which the most influential faction was that of the Earl of Argyll....

 in 1644. Having been released in March of the following year, he fought in the Battle of Kilsyth

Battle of Kilsyth

The Battle of Kilsyth was an engagement of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms which took place on 15 August 1645 at Kilsyth. Despite the numerical disadvantage, the battle was another victory for Royalist forces over the Covenanters, and marked the end of William Baillie's pursuit of the...

 and was captured in November, following the Battle of Philiphaugh

Battle of Philiphaugh

The Battle of Philiphaugh was fought on 13 September 1645 during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms near Selkirk in the Scottish Borders. The Royalist army of the Marquess of Montrose was destroyed by the Covenanter army of Sir David Leslie, restoring the power of the Committee of Estates.-Prelude:When...

. Although sentenced to death at St Andrews

St Andrews

St Andrews is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....

, Johnstone later received a pardon

Pardon

Clemency means the forgiveness of a crime or the cancellation of the penalty associated with it. It is a general concept that encompasses several related procedures: pardoning, commutation, remission and reprieves...

. In 1648, when the Engagers

Engagers

The Engagers were a faction of the Scottish Covenanters, who made "The Engagement" with King Charles I in December 1647 while he was imprisoned in Carisbrooke Castle by the English Parliamenterians after his defeat in the First Civil War....

 signed a treaty with the king, he was preventively arrested.

Family

On 29 November 1622, he married firstly Lady Margaret Douglas, eldest daughter of William Douglas, 1st Earl of Queensberry. After her death in 1640, Johnstone remarried, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Samuel Johnston, 1st Baronet on 6 March 1643. She died only few years later and on 25 February 1647 he married finally Lady Margaret Hamilton, third daughter of Thomas Hamilton, 1st Earl of Haddington

Thomas Hamilton, 1st Earl of Haddington

Thomas Hamilton, 1st Earl of Haddington , designated before his peerage as 'of Drumcarny, Monkland, and Binning', was a Scottish administrator, Lord Advocate, judge, and Lord Lieutenant of Haddingtonshire.-Family:...

 in Holyrood Abbey

Holyrood Abbey

Holyrood Abbey is a ruined abbey of the Canons Regular in Edinburgh, Scotland. The abbey was founded in 1128 by King David I of Scotland. During the 15th century, the abbey guesthouse was developed into a royal residence, and after the Scottish Reformation the Palace of Holyroodhouse was expanded...

 in Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

. Johnstone had six children by his first wife, four daughters and two sons. He died at London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 in 1653 and was succeeded in his titles by his older son James.