Clan Fraser of Lovat, Clan Dunbar, Clan Mackenzie, Clan Irvine, Clan Ogilvy, and the Clan Leslie to join him. The Earls on the opposing side knew that Argyll was a youth with no military experience, whose army was made up of raw and undisciplined militia and which also included a great number of Catholics. As Argyll approached, the Earl of Errol with 100 selected horsemen joined the Earl of Huntly at Strathbogie. Huntly's force now amounted to nearly 1,500 men, mostly horsemen, and from there they advanced to Carnborrow where the two Earls and their followers made the vow to conquer or die. They then marched to Auchindoun arriving the same day. Huntly received intelligence that Argyll was about to descend from the mountains to the lowlands and sent Captain Thomas Carr and a party of horsemen to carry out reconnaissance. They accidentally met Argyll's scouts who they chased and some of whom they killed. Huntly then resolved to attack Argyll before he was joined by the Lord Forbes and the forces which were waiting for his appearance in the lowlands. Argyll passed Glenlivet and reached the banks of a small stream named Alltacoileachan, but he had no idea that Huntly and Errol would attack him with such an inferior force and was therefore astonished to see them approach him. He was apprehensive that Huntly's cavalry would counterbalance his numerical superiority of foot soldiers and so held a council of war to decide if they should attack or retreat to the mountains which were inaccessible to Huntly's horse, and where he could wait until the lowland forces, which were mainly cavalry, would arrive to support him. The council advised Argyll to wait for the King to arrive with his forces to support him, or at least until the Frasers and Mackenizes had arrived from the north, or the Irvines, Forbeses, and Leslies from the south. However, Argyll disregarded this decision and was determined to wait for the attack from the enemy and encouraged his men by pointing out how small their enemy was. The battle Argyll positioned his army in two divisions on a hill between Glenlivet and Glenrinnes. On the right wing were the Macleans and Mackintoshes, commanded by Lachlan Maclean and Mackintosh of Mackintosh. On the left wing were the Grants, MacNeils, and MacGregors who were commanded by Grant of Gartinbeg. In the centre were the Campbells who