the appointment of leslie as field marshal avoided a contest between inexperienced nobles for leadership and his reputation made the service by scottish mercenaries in covenanter armies more likely. he became an ex offico member of the tables, enabling him to influence policy and take part in issuing dispatches. although producing a relatively large and efficiently organised army, it was hastily assembled, and short of money and supplies. the covenanting regime had to make assessments on parishes and relied on loans from edinburgh merchants, making a long campaign difficult to sustain. in the view of historian james scott wheeler, the first covenanter army was "marginally trained, irregularly armed, poorly paid and badly supplied", but it proved sufficient to the task.