Filmmaker Michael Moore believed all his maternal ancestors were Irish immigrants, but he was surprised to learn of his Scottish ancestors who were sent to America in the 1650s as POWs of the English Civil War. 

The Battle of Worcester in 1651 was the last battle in the English Civil Wars, a series of conflicts that took place in the Kingdoms of England, Ireland and Scotland. Beginning around 1642, these wars were the result of differences over how the Kingdom should be governed, with the Royalists supporting the rule of absolute monarchy, and the Parliamentarians or Roundheads supporting a rule by Parliament. The Battle of Worcester marked the end of the Royalists’ attempts to regain power through warfare. This resulted in the exile of the monarch Charles II, while the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland were led by Oliver Cromwell. 

The final battle took place in Worcester, England when Scottish Royalists, supporting King Charles II, marched south to England to help regain the throne from the Roundheads. They anticipated gathering support for their cause along the way, but they were seen as invaders and were quickly defeated by Oliver Cromwell and his armies waiting for them at Worcester; over 3,000 men were killed and approximately 10,000 captured. 

The captured men were forced to march over 100 miles to London where many of them were sent to the New World and sold into forced servitude. The prisoners were sent on multiple ships abroad and sent to New England, the upper South and Barbados. Many of the men ended up in the sawmills and the ironworks in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine, sold into indentured servitude for periods of up to seven years. Given the length of their servitude and their poverty few ever were able to return to Scotland.