A.D. 1715.
BRITISH SOVEREIGN:--George I., 1714-1727.
Measures of the government--Attempt to surprise Edinburgh
Castle--Duke of Argyle appointed to the command of the government
forces--Expedition of General Gordon into Argyle--Proceedings
of the Earl of Mar--Insurrection in England--Affair at
Keith--Rising in the south of Scotland--Expedition of Brigadier
Mackintosh--Marches to Edinburgh and occupies Leith--Duke of
Argyle marches to Leith--Retreat of Mackintosh--Joins the forces
under Forster--Disputes among the insurgents and secession of 500
Highlanders--Rebels march into England--Battle of Preston.
While the Earl of Mar was thus busily engaged exciting a rebellion in
the north, the government was no less active in making preparations
to meet it. Apprehensive of a general rising in England, particularly
in the west, where a spirit of disaffection had often displayed
itself, and to which the insurrection in Scotland was, it was
believed, intended as a diversion; the government, instead of
despatching troops to Scotland, posted the whole disposable force
in the disaffected districts, at convenient distances, by which
disposition, considerable bodies could be assembled together to
assist each other in case of need. The wisdom of this plan soon
became apparent, as there can be no doubt, that had an army been sent
into Scotland to suppress the rebellion in the north, an insurrection
would have broken out in England, which might have been fatal to the
government.[686]
To strengthen, however, the military force in Scotland, the
regiments of Forfar, Orrery, and Hill, were recalled from Ireland.
These arrived at Edinburgh about the 24th of August, and were soon
thereafter despatched along with other troops to the west, under
Major-general Wightman, for the purpose of securing the fords of the
Forth, and the pass of Stirling. These troops being upon the reduced
establishment, did not exceed 1,600 men, a force inadequate for the
protection of such an important post. Orders were, therefore, sent
to the Earl of Stair’s regiment of dragoons and two foot regiments,
which lay in the north of England, to march to the camp in the park
of Stirling with all expedition, and at the same time, Evans’s
regiment of dragoons, and Clyton’s and Wightman’s regiments of foot
were recalled from Ireland.[687]
During the time the camp was forming at Stirling, the friends of
the Chevalier at Edinburgh formed the daring project of seizing the
castle of Edinburgh, the possession of which would have been of vast
importance to the Jacobite cause. Lord Drummond, a Catholic, was
at the head of this party, which consisted of about 90 gentlemen
selected for the purpose, about one half of whom were Highlanders.
In the event of success, each of the adventurers was to receive
£100 sterling and a commission in the army. To facilitate their
design, they employed one Arthur, who had formerly been an ensign
in the Scotch guards, to corrupt some of the soldiers in the
garrison, and who by money and promises of preferment induced a
sergeant, a corporal, and two sentinels to enter into the views of
the conspirators. These engaged to attend at a certain place upon
the wall, on the north, near the Sally-port, in order to assist the
conspirators in their ascent. The latter had prepared a scaling
ladder made of ropes, capable of holding several men abreast, and
had so contrived it, that it could be drawn up through means of
pulleys, by a small rope which the soldiers were to fasten behind the
wall. Having completed their arrangements, they fixed on the 9th of
September for the attempt, being the day after the last detachment
of the government troops quartered in camp in St. Anne’s Yards,
near Edinburgh, had set off for Stirling. But the projectors of this
well-concerted enterprise were doomed to lament its failure when
almost on the eve of completion.
[Illustration: Edinburgh Castle in 1715, from the North-East. From an
old print.]
Arthur, the officer who had bribed the soldiers, having engaged
his brother, a physician in Edinburgh, in the Jacobite interest,
let him into the secret of the design upon the castle. Dr. Arthur,
who appears to have been a man of a timorous disposition, grew
alarmed at this intelligence, and so deep had been the impression
made upon his mind while contemplating the probable consequences of
such a step, that on the day before the attempt his spirits became
so depressed as to attract the notice of his wife, who importuned
him to inform her of the cause. He complied, and his wife, without
acquainting him, sent an anonymous letter to Sir Adam Cockburn of
Ormiston, Lord-Justice-Clerk, acquainting him with the conspiracy.
Cockburn received this letter at ten o’clock at night, and sent it
off with a letter from himself to Lieutenant-colonel Stuart, the
deputy-governor of the castle, who received the communication shortly
before eleven. Stuart lost no time in ordering the officers to double
their guards and make diligent rounds; but probably supposing that
no attempt would be made that night he went to bed after issuing
these instructions. In the meantime, the conspirators had assembled
at a tavern preparatory to their attempt, but unfortunately for
its success they lingered over their cups far beyond the time they
had fixed upon for putting their project into execution. In fact,
they did not assemble at the bottom of the wall till after the
deputy-governor had issued his orders; but ignorant of what had
passed within the castle, they proceeded to tie the rope, which had
been let down by the soldiers, to the ladder. Unhappily for the
whole party, the hour for changing the sentinels had arrived, and
while the traitorous soldiers were in the act of drawing up the
ladder, one Lieutenant Lindsay, at the head of a party of fresh
sentinels, came upon them on his way to the sally-port. The soldiers,
alarmed at the approach of Lindsay’s party, immediately slipt the
rope, one of them at the same time discharging his piece at the
assailants to divert suspicion from himself. The noise which this
occurrence produced told the conspirators that they were discovered,
on which they dispersed. A party of the town-guard which the Lord
Provost, at the request of the Lord-Justice-Clerk, had sent to patrol
about the castle, attracted by the firing, immediately rushed from
the West-Port, and repaired to the spot, but all the conspirators,
with the exception of four whom they secured, had escaped. These
were one Captain Maclean, an officer who had fought under Dundee at
Killiecrankie, whom they found lying on the ground much injured by a
fall from the ladder or from a precipice; Alexander Ramsay and George
Boswell, writers in Edinburgh; and one Lesly, who had been in the
service of the same Duchess of Gordon who had distinguished herself
in the affair of the medal. This party picked up the ladder and a
quantity of muskets and carbines which the conspirators had thrown
away in their flight.[688]
Such was the result of an enterprise which had been matured with
great judgment, and which would probably have succeeded, but for
the trifling circumstance above mentioned. The capture of such an
important fortress as the castle of Edinburgh, at such a time, would
have been of vast importance to the Jacobites, inasmuch as it would
not only have afforded them an abundant supply of military stores,
with which it was then well provided, and put them in possession of a
considerable sum of money, but would also have served as a rallying
point to the disaffected living to the south of the Forth, who only
waited a favourable opportunity to declare themselves. Besides giving
them the command of the city, the possession of the castle by a
Jacobite force would have compelled the commander of the government
forces to withdraw the greater part of his troops from Stirling, and
leave that highly important post exposed to the northern insurgents.
Had the attempt succeeded, Lord Drummond, the contriver of the
design, was to have been made governor of the castle, and notice
of its capture was to have been announced to some of the Jacobite
partisans on the opposite coast of Fife, by firing three cannon-shots
from its battlements. On hearing the report of the guns, these men
were instantly to have communicated the intelligence to the Earl of
Mar, who was to hasten south with all his forces.[689]
As the appointment of a person of rank, influence, and talent, to
the command of the army, destined to oppose the Earl of Mar, was of
great importance, the Duke of Argyle, who had served with distinction
abroad, and who had formerly acted as commander-in-chief of the
forces in Scotland, was pitched upon as generalissimo of the army
encamped at Stirling. Having received instructions from his majesty
on the 8th of September, he departed for Scotland the following day,
accompanied by some of the Scottish nobility, and other persons of
distinction, and arrived at Edinburgh on the 14th. About the same
time, the Earl of Sutherland, who had offered his services to raise
the clans in the northern Highlands, in support of the government,
was sent down from London to Leith in a ship of war, with orders
to obtain a supply of arms and ammunition from the governor of the
castle of Edinburgh. He arrived on the 21st of September, and after
giving instructions for the shipment of these supplies, departed for
the north.
When the Duke of Argyle reached Edinburgh, he found that Mar had
made considerable progress in the insurrection, and that the regular
forces at Stirling were far inferior in point of numbers to those of
the Jacobite commander. He, therefore, on the day he arrived in the
capital, addressed a letter to the magistrates of Glasgow, (who, on
the first appearance of the insurrection, had offered, in a letter to
Lord Townshend, one of the secretaries of state, to raise 600 men in
support of the government, at the expense of the city,) requesting
them to send forthwith 500 or 600 men to Stirling, under the command
of such officers as they should think fit to appoint, to join the
forces stationed there. In compliance with this demand, there were
despatched to Stirling, on the 17th, 18th, and 19th of September,
three battalions, amounting to between 600 and 700 men, under the
nominal command of the Lord Provost, who deputed the active part
of his duties to Colonel Blackadder. On the arrival of the first
battalion, the duke addressed a second letter from Stirling to the
magistrates of Glasgow, thanking them for their promptitude, and
requesting them to send intimation, with the greatest despatch, to
all the friends of the government in the west, to assemble all the
fencible forces at Glasgow, and to hold them in readiness to march
when required. In connexion with these instructions, the duke, at
the same time, wrote letters of a similar import to the magistrates
of all the well affected burghs, and to private individuals who
were known to be favourably disposed. The most active measures were
accordingly adopted in the south and west by the friends of the
government, and in a short time a sufficient force was raised to keep
the disaffected in these districts in check.[690]
Meanwhile the Earl of Mar and his friends were no less active
in preparing for the campaign. Pursuant to an arrangement with
the Jacobite chiefs, General Gordon, an officer of great bravery
and experience, was despatched into the Highlands to raise the
north-western clans, with instructions either to join Mar with
such forces as he could collect at the fords of the Forth, or to
march upon Glasgow by Dumbarton. Having collected a body of between
4,000 and 5,000 men, chiefly Macdonalds, Macleans, and Camerons,
Gordon attempted to surprise Fort-William, and succeeded so far as
to carry by surprise some of the outworks, sword in hand, in which
were a lieutenant, sergeant, and 25 men; but as the garrison made
a determined resistance, he withdrew his men, and marched towards
Inverary. This route, it is said, was taken at the suggestion of
Campbell of Glendaruel, who, at the first meeting of the Jacobites,
had assured Mar and his friends that if the more northern clans
would take Argyleshire in their way to the south, their numbers
would be greatly increased by the Macleans, Macdonalds, Macdougalls,
Macneills, and the other Macs of that county, together with a
great number of Campbells, of the family and followers of the
Earl of Breadalbane, Sir James Campbell of Auchinbreck, and Sir
Duncan Campbell of Lochnell; all of whom, he said, would join in
the insurrection, when they saw the other clans in that country at
hand to protect them against those in the interest of the Duke of
Argyle.[691]
When the Earl of Islay, brother to the Duke of Argyle, heard of
General Gordon’s movements, he assembled about 2,500 men to prevent a
rising of the clans in Argyle, and of the disaffected branches of the
name of Campbell. On arriving before Inverary, General Gordon found
the place protected by entrenchments which the earl had thrown up. He
did not venture on an attack, but contented himself with encamping at
the north-east side of the town, at nearly the distance of a mile,
where he continued some days without any hostile attempt being made
on either side. It was evidently contrary to Gordon’s plan to hazard
an action, his sole design in entering Argyleshire being to give an
opportunity to the Jacobite population of that district to join his
standard, which the keeping of such a large body of men locked up in
Inverary would greatly assist.
During the continuance before Inverary of the “Black Camp,” as
General Gordon’s party was denominated by the Campbells, the Earl of
Islay and his men were kept in a state of continual alarm from the
most trifling causes. On one occasion an amusing incident occurred,
which excited the fears of the Campbells, and showed how greatly they
dreaded an attack. Some time before this occurrence, a small body
of horse from Kintyre had joined the earl: the men were quartered
in the town, but the horses were put out to graze on the east side
of the small river that runs past Inverary. The horses disliking
their quarters, took their departure one night in search of better
pasture. They sought their way along the shore for the purpose
of crossing the river at the lower end of the town. The trampling
of their hoofs on the gravel being heard at some distance by the
garrison, the earl’s men were thrown into the utmost consternation,
as they had no doubt that the enemy was advancing to attack them. As
the horses were at full gallop, and advancing nearer every moment,
the noise increasing as they approached, nothing but terror was
to be seen in every face. With trembling hands they seized their
arms and put themselves in a defensive posture to repel the attack,
but they were fortunately soon relieved from the panic they had
been thrown into by some of the horses which had passed the river
approaching without riders; so that “at last,” says the narrator
of this anecdote, “the whole was found only to be a plot among the
Kintyre horse to desert not to the enemy, but to their own country;
for ’tis to be supposed the horses, as well as their owners, were of
very loyal principles.”[692]
Shortly after this event, another occurrence took place, which
terminated not quite so ridiculously as the other. One night the
sergeant on duty, when going his rounds at the quarter of the town
opposite to the place where the clans lay, happened to make some
mistake in the watchword. The sentinel on duty supposing the sergeant
and his party to be enemies, discharged his piece at them. The earl,
alarmed at the firing, immediately ordered the drums to beat to
arms, and in a short time the whole of his men were assembled on the
castle-green, where they were drawn up in battalions in regular order
by torch or candle light, the night being extremely dark. As soon as
they were marshalled, the earl gave them orders to fire in platoons
towards the quarter whence they supposed the enemy was approaching,
and, accordingly, they opened a brisk fire, which was kept up for
a considerable time, by which several of their own sentinels in
returning from their posts were wounded. Whilst the Campbells were
thus employed upon the castle-green, several gentlemen, some say
general officers, who liked to fight “under covert,” retired to the
square tower or castle of Inverary, from the windows of which they
issued their orders. When the earl found that he had no enemy to
contend with, he ordered his men to cease firing, and to continue all
night under arms. This humorous incident, however, was attended with
good consequences to the terrified Campbells, as it had the effect of
relieving them from the presence of the enemy. General Gordon, who
had not the most distant intention of entering the town, on hearing
the close and regular firing from the garrison, concluded that some
forces had entered the town, to celebrate whose arrival the firing
had taken place, and alarmed for his own safety, sounded a retreat
towards Perthshire before day-light.[693]
No sooner, however, had the clans left Inverary, than a detachment of
the Earl of Breadalbane’s men, to the number of about 500, entered
the county under the command of Campbell of Glenlyon. To expel
them, the Earl of Islay sent a select body of about 700 men, in the
direction of Lorn, under the command of Colonel Campbell of Fanab, an
old and experienced officer, who came up with Glenlyon’s detachment
at Glenscheluch, a small village at the end of the lake called
Lochnell, in the mid division of Lorn, about 20 miles distant from
Inverary. Both sides immediately prepared for battle, and to lighten
themselves as much as possible, the men threw off their plaids and
other incumbrances. Whilst both parties were standing gazing on each
other with fury in their looks, waiting for the signal to commence
battle, a parley was proposed, in consequence of which, a conference
was held by the commanders half-way between the lines. The result
was, that the Breadalbane-men, to spare the effusion of the Campbell
blood, agreed to lay down their arms on condition of being allowed
to march out of the country without disturbance. These terms being
communicated to both detachments, were approved of by a loud shout of
joy, and hostages were immediately exchanged on both sides for the
due performance of the articles. The Earl of Islay, on coming up with
the remainder of his forces, was dissatisfied with the terms of the
capitulation, as he considered that he had it in his power to cut off
Glenlyon’s party; but he was persuaded to accede to the articles,
which were accordingly honourably observed on both sides.[694]
In the meantime, the Earl of Mar had collected a considerable force,
with which he marched, about the middle of September, to Moulinearn,
a small village in Athole, where he proclaimed the Chevalier. On
entering Athole, he was joined by 500 Athole-men, under the Marquis
of Tullibardine, and by the party of the Earl of Breadalbane’s
men, under Campbell of Glenlyon and Campbell of Glendaruel. He was
afterwards joined by the old earl himself, who, although he had, the
day preceding his arrival, procured an affidavit from a physician in
Perth, and the minister of the parish of Kenmore, of which he was
patron, certifying his total inability, from age, and a complication
of diseases, to comply with a mandate of the government requiring him
to attend at Edinburgh; yet, nevertheless, found himself able enough
to take the field in support of the Chevalier.[695] Having received
intelligence that the Earl of Rothes, and some of the gentlemen of
Fife, were advancing with 500 of the militia of that county to seize
Perth, he sent Colonel John Hay, brother to the Earl of Kinnoul,
with a detachment of 200 horse, to take possession of that town; he
accordingly entered it on the 14th of September, without opposition,
and there proclaimed the Chevalier. The provost made indeed a
demonstration of opposition by collecting between 300 and 400 men
in the market place; but Colonel Hay having been joined by a party
of 150 men which had been sent into the town a few days before by
the Duke of Athole, the provost dismissed his men. When the Earl of
Rothes, who was advancing upon Perth with a body of 500 men, heard
of its capture, he retired to Leslie, and sent notice of the event
to the Duke of Argyle. The possession of Perth was of importance to
Mar in a double point of view, as it not only gave him the command
of the whole of Fife, in addition to the country north of the Tay,
but also inspired his friends with confidence.[696] Accordingly,
the Chevalier was proclaimed at Aberdeen by the Earl Marischal; at
Castle Gordon, by the Marquis of Huntly; at Brechin, by the Earl of
Panmure; at Montrose, by the Earl of Southesk; and at Dundee, by
Graham of Claverhouse, who was afterwards created Viscount Dundee, by
the Chevalier.
As Mar had no intention of descending into the Lowlands himself
without a considerable force, he remained several days at Moulinearn
waiting for the clans who had promised to join him, and in the
meantime directed Colonel Hay, whom, on the 18th of September, he
appointed governor of Perth, to retain possession of that town at
all hazards. He also directed him to tender to the inhabitants the
oath of allegiance to the Chevalier, and to expel from the town
all persons who refused to take the oath. After this purgation had
been effected, Governor Hay was ordered to appoint a free election
of magistrates by poll, to open all letters passing through the
post-office, and to appoint a new post-master in whom he could have
confidence. To support Hay in case of an attack, Mar sent down a
party of Robertsons, on the 22d, under the command of Alexander
Robertson of Strowan, their chief, known as the elector of Strowan.
At this time, Mar’s forces did not probably exceed 3,000 men, but
their number having been increased to upwards of 5,000 within a few
days thereafter, he marched down upon Perth, which he entered on
the 28th of September, on which day the Honourable James Murray,
second son of the Viscount Stormont, arrived at Perth with letters
from the Chevalier to the earl, giving him assurances of speedy and
powerful succour, and promises from the Chevalier, as was reported,
of appearing personally in Scotland in a short time. This gentleman
had gone over to France in the month of April preceding, to meet the
Chevalier, who had appointed him principal secretary for Scotland,
and had lately landed at Dover, whence he had travelled _incognito_
overland to Edinburgh, where, although well known, he escaped
detection. After spending a few days in Edinburgh, during which time
he attended, it is said, several private meetings of the friends of
the Chevalier, he crossed the Frith in an open boat at Newhaven, and
landed at Burntisland, whence he proceeded to Perth.[697]
The first operations of the insurgents were marked by vigour and
intrepidity. The seizure of Perth, though by no means a brilliant
affair, was almost as important as a victory would have been at
such a crisis, and another dashing exploit which a party of the
earl’s army performed a few days after his arrival at Perth, was
calculated to make an impression equally favourable to the Jacobite
cause. Before the Earl of Sutherland took his departure from Leith
for Dunrobin castle, to raise a force in the north, he arranged with
the government for a supply of arms, ammunition and military stores,
which was to be furnished by the governor of Edinburgh castle, and
sent down to the north with as little delay as possible. Accordingly,
about the end of September, a vessel belonging to Burntisland
was freighted for that purpose, on board of which were put about
400 stands of arms, and a considerable quantity of ammunition
and military stores. The vessel anchored in Leith roads, but was
prevented from passing down the Frith by a strong north-easterly
wind, which, continuing to blow very hard, induced the captain
for security’s sake to weigh anchor and stand over to Burntisland
roads, on the opposite coast of Fife, under the protection of the
weather shore. The captain went on shore at Burntisland, to visit
his wife and family who resided in the town, and the destination of
the vessel, and the nature of her cargo being made known to some
persons in the Jacobite interest, information thereof was immediately
communicated by them to the Earl of Mar, who at once resolved to
send a detachment to Burntisland to seize the vessel. Accordingly,
he despatched on the evening of the 2d of October, a party of 400
horse, and 500 foot, from Perth to Burntisland, with instructions
so to order their march as not to enter the latter place till about
midnight. To draw off the attention of the Duke of Argyle from
this expedition, Mar made a movement as if he intended to march
with all his forces upon Alva, in the neighbourhood of Stirling,
in consequence of which Argyle, who had received intelligence of
Mar’s supposed design, kept his men under arms the whole day in
expectation of an attack. Meanwhile, the party having reached their
destination, the foot entered Burntisland unperceived, and while
the horse surrounded the town to prevent any person from carrying
the intelligence of their arrival out of it, the foot seized all
the boats in the harbour and along the shore, to cut off all
communication by sea. About 120 men were, thereupon, sent off in
some boats to board the ship, which they secured without opposition.
They at first attempted to bring the vessel into the harbour, but
were prevented by the state of the tide. They, however, lost no time
in discharging her cargo, and having pressed a number of carts and
horses from the neighbourhood into their service, the detachment
set off undisturbed for Perth with their booty, where they arrived
without molestation. Besides the arms and other warlike materials
which they found in the vessel, the detachment carried off 100 stands
of arms from the town, and between 30 and 40 more which they found in
another ship. Emboldened by the success of this enterprise, parties
of the insurgents spread themselves over Fife, took possession of
all the towns on the north of the Frith of Forth, from Burntisland
to Fifeness, and prohibited all communication between them and the
opposite coast. The Earl of Rothes, who was quartered at Leslie, was
now obliged, for fear of being cut off, to retire to Stirling under
the protection of a detachment of horse and foot, which had been
sent from Stirling to support him, under the command of the Earl of
Forfar, and Colonel Ker.[698]
Mar had not yet been joined by any of the northern clans, nor by
those under General Gordon; but on the 5th of October, about 500
of the Mackintoshes arrived under the command of the Laird of
Borlum, better known by the name of Brigadier Mackintosh, an old and
experienced soldier, who, as uncle of the chief, had placed himself
at the head of that clan in consequence of his nephew’s minority.
This clan had formerly sided with the revolution party; but,
influenced by Borlum, who was a zealous Jacobite, they were among the
first to espouse the cause of the Chevalier, and had seized upon
Inverness before some of the other clans had taken the field. On
the following day the earl was also joined by the Marquis of Huntly
at the head of 500 horse and 2,000 foot, chiefly Gordons; and on
the 10th by the Earl Marischal with 300 horse, among whom were many
gentlemen, and 500 foot. These different accessions increased Mar’s
army to upwards of 8,000 men.
Mar ought now to have instantly opened the campaign by advancing upon
Stirling, and attacking the Duke of Argyle, whose forces did not, at
this time, amount to 2,000 men. In his rear he had nothing to dread,
as the Earl of Seaforth, who was advancing to join him with a body
of 3,000 foot and 600 horse, had left a division of 2,000 of his men
behind him to keep the Earl of Sutherland, and the other friends of
the government in the northern Highlands, in check. As the whole of
the towns on the eastern coast from Burntisland to Inverness were in
possession of his detachments, and as there was not a single hostile
party along the whole of that extensive stretch, no obstacle could
have occurred, had he marched south, to prevent him from obtaining
a regular supply of provisions for his army and such warlike stores
as might reach any of these ports from France. One French vessel
had already safely landed a supply of arms and ammunition in a
northern port, and another during Mar’s stay at Perth boldly sailed
up the Frith of Forth, in presence of some English ships of war, and
entered the harbour of Burntisland with a fresh supply. But though
personally brave, Mar was deficient in military genius, and was
altogether devoid of that promptitude of action by which Montrose
and Dundee were distinguished. Instead, therefore, of attempting
at once to strike a decisive blow at Argyle, the insurgent general
lingered at Perth upwards of a month. This error, however, might have
been repaired had he not committed a more fatal one by detaching a
considerable part of his army, including the Macintoshes, who were
the best armed of his forces, at the solicitation of a few English
Jacobites, who, having taken up arms in the north of England, craved
his support.
About the period of Mar’s departure for Scotland, the government
had obtained information of a dangerous conspiracy in England in
favour of the Chevalier, in consequence of which the titular Duke of
Powis was committed to the Tower, and Lords Lansdowne and Dupplin
were arrested, as implicated in the conspiracy, and a warrant was
issued for the apprehension of the Earl of Jersey. At the same time,
a message from the king was sent to the house of commons, informing
them that his majesty had given orders for the apprehension of Sir
William Wyndham, Mr. Thomas Forster, junior, member for the county
of Northumberland, and other members of the lower house, as being
engaged in a design to support an invasion of the kingdom. Sir
William Wyndham was accordingly apprehended, and committed to the
Tower, but Mr. Forster having been apprised of the arrival of a
messenger at Durham with the warrant for his apprehension, avoided
him, and joined the Earl of Derwentwater, a young Catholic nobleman,
against whom a similar warrant had been issued. Tired of shifting
from place to place, they convened a meeting of their friends in
Northumberland to consult as to the course they should pursue; it was
resolved immediately to take up arms in support of the Chevalier. In
pursuance of a resolution entered into, about 60 horsemen, mostly
gentlemen, and some attendants, met on Thursday the 6th of October,
at a place called Greenrig, whence, after some consultation, they
marched to Plainfield, a place on the river Coquet, where they
were joined by a few adherents. From Plainfield they departed for
Rothbury, a small market town, where they took up their quarters for
the night.
Next morning, their numbers still increasing, they advanced to
Warkworth, where they were joined by Lord Widdrington, with 30
horse. Mr. Forster was now appointed to the command of this force,
not on account of his military abilities, for he had none, but
because he was a Protestant, and therefore less objectionable to the
high-church party than the Earl of Derwentwater, who, in the absence
of a regularly bred commander, should, on account of his rank, have
been named to the chief command. On Sunday morning, Mr. Forster
sent Mr. Buxton, a clergyman of Derbyshire, who acted as chaplain
to the insurgent party, to the parson of Warkworth, with orders
to pray for the Chevalier by name as king, and to introduce into
the Litany the name of Mary, the queen-mother, and all the dutiful
branches of the royal family, and omit the names of King George, and
the prince and princess. The minister of the parish wisely declined
to obey these orders, and for his own safety retired to Newcastle.
The parishioners, however, were not deprived of divine service, as
Mr. Buxton, on the refusal of the parson to officiate as directed,
entered the church, and performed in his stead with considerable
effect.[699]
On Monday the 10th of October, Mr. Forster was joined by 40 horse
from the Scottish border, on which day he openly proclaimed the
Chevalier. This small party remained at Warkworth till the 14th, when
they proceeded to Alnwick, where they were joined by many of their
friends, and thence marched to Morpeth. At Felton bridge they were
reinforced by another party of Scottish horse to the number of 70,
chiefly gentlemen from the border, so that on entering Morpeth their
force amounted to 300 horse. In the course of his march Forster had
numerous offers of service from the country people, which, however,
he was obliged to decline from the want of arms; but he promised to
avail himself of them as soon as he had provided himself with arms
and ammunition, which he expected to find in Newcastle, whither he
intended to proceed.
In connection with these movements, Launcelot Errington, a Newcastle
shipmaster, undertook to surprise Holy Island, which was guarded by
a few soldiers, exchanged weekly from the garrison of Berwick. In a
military point of view, the possession of such an insignificant post
was of little importance, but it was considered by the Jacobites as
useful for making signals to such French vessels as might appear off
the Northumberland coast with supplies for the insurgents. Errington,
it appears, was known to the garrison, as he had been in the habit
of visiting the island on business; and having arrived off the
island on the 10th of October, he was allowed to enter the port, no
suspicions being entertained of his design. Pursuant to the plan he
had formed for surprising the castle, he invited the greater part
of the garrison to visit his vessel, and having got them on board,
he and the party which accompanied him left the vessel, and took
possession of the castle without opposition. Errington endeavoured to
apprise his friends at Warkworth of his success by signals, but these
were not observed, and the place was retaken the following day by a
detachment of 30 men from the garrison of Berwick, and a party of 50
of the inhabitants of the town, who, crossing the sands at low water,
entered the island, and carried the fort sword in hand. Errington,
in attempting to escape, received a shot in the thigh, and being
captured, was carried prisoner to Berwick; whence he had the good
fortune to make his escape in disguise.[700]
The possession of Newcastle, where the Jacobite interest was very
powerful, was the first object of the Northumberland insurgents;
but they were frustrated in their design by the vigilance of the
magistrates. Having first secured all suspected persons, the
magistrates walled up all the gates with stone and lime, except
the Brampton gate, on which they placed two pieces of cannon. An
association of the well-affected inhabitants was formed for the
defence of the town, and the churchmen and dissenters, laying aside
their antipathies for a time, enrolled themselves as volunteers. 700
of these were immediately armed by the magistrates. The keelmen also,
who were chiefly dissenters, offered to furnish a similar number
of men to defend that town; but their services were not required,
as two successive reinforcements of regular troops from Yorkshire
arrived on the 9th and 12th of October. When the insurgents received
intelligence of the state of affairs at Newcastle, they retired to
Hexham, having a few days before sent an express to the Earl of Mar
for a reinforcement of foot.
The news of the rising under Mr. Forster having been communicated to
the Marquis of Tweeddale, Lord Lieutenant of Haddingtonshire, his
lordship called a meeting of his deputy lieutenants at Haddington
early in October, and at the same time issued instructions to them
to put the laws in execution against “papists” and other suspected
persons, by binding them over to keep the peace, and by seizing
their arms and horses in terms of a late act of parliament. In
pursuance of this order, Mr. Hepburn of Humbie, and Dr. Sinclair
of Hermandston, two of the deputy lieutenants, resolved to go the
morning after the instructions were issued, to the house of Mr.
Hepburn of Keith, a zealous Jacobite, against whom they appear to
have entertained hostile feelings. Dr. Sinclair accordingly appeared
next morning with a party of armed men at the place where Hepburn
of Humbie had agreed to meet him; but as the latter did not appear
at the appointed hour, the doctor proceeded towards Keith with his
attendants. On their way to Keith, Hepburn enjoined his party, in
case of resistance, not to fire till they should be first fired at
by Mr. Hepburn of Keith or his party; and on arriving near the house
he reiterated these instructions. When the arrival of Sinclair and
his party was announced to Mr. Hepburn of Keith, the latter at once
suspecting the cause, immediately demanded inspection of the doctor’s
orders. Sinclair, thereupon, sent forward a servant with the Marquis
of Tweeddale’s commission, who, finding the gates shut, offered to
show the commission to Hepburn at the dining-room window. On being
informed of the nature of the commission, Hepburn signified the
utmost contempt at it, and furiously exclaiming “God damn the doctor
and the marquis both,” disappeared. The servant thinking that Mr.
Hepburn had retired for a time to consult with his friends before
inspecting the commission, remained before the inner gate waiting for
his return. But instead of coming back to receive the commission,
Hepburn and his friends immediately mounted their horses and sallied
out, Hepburn discharging a pistol at the servant, which wounded
him in two places. Old Keith then rode up to the doctor, who was
standing near the outer gate, and after firing another pistol at him,
attacked him sword in hand and wounded him in the head. Sinclair’s
party, in terms of their instructions, immediately returned the
fire, and Mr. Hepburn’s younger son was unfortunately killed on the
spot. Hepburn and his party, disconcerted by this event, instantly
galloped off towards the Borders and joined the Jacobite standard.
The death of young Hepburn, who was the first person that fell in
the insurrection of 1715, highly incensed the Jacobites, who longed
for an opportunity, which was soon afforded them, of punishing its
author, Dr. Sinclair.[701]
Whilst Mr. Forster was thus employed in Northumberland, the Earl
of Kenmure, who had received a commission from the Earl of Mar to
raise the Jacobites in the south of Scotland, was assembling his
friends on the Scottish border. Early in October he had held private
meetings with some of them, at which it had been resolved to make an
attempt upon Dumfries, expecting to surprise it before the friends
of the government there should be aware of their design; but the
magistrates got timely warning. Lord Kenmure first appeared in arms,
at the head of 150 horse, on the 11th of October at Moffat, where he
proclaimed the Chevalier, on the evening of which day he was joined
by the Earl of Wintoun and 14 attendants. Next day he proceeded to
Lochmaben, where he also proclaimed “the Pretender.” Alarmed at his
approach, the magistrates of Dumfries ordered the drums to beat to
arms, and for several days the town exhibited a scene of activity
and military bustle perfectly ludicrous, when the trifling force
with which it was threatened is considered. Kenmure advanced within
two miles of the town, but being informed of the preparations which
had been made to receive him, he returned to Lochmaben. He thereupon
marched to Ecclefechan, where he was joined by Sir Patrick Maxwell of
Springkell, with 14 horsemen, and thence to Langholm, and afterwards
to Hawick, where he proclaimed the Chevalier. On the 17th of October,
Kenmure marched to Jedburgh, with the intention of proceeding to
Kelso, and there also proclaimed the prince; but learning that Kelso
was protected by a party under the command of Sir William Bennet of
Grubbet, he crossed the Border with the design of forming a junction
with Forster.[702]
We must now direct attention to the measures taken by the Earl of Mar
in compliance with the request of Mr. Forster and his friends to send
them a body of foot. As Mar had not resolution to attempt the passage
of the Forth, which, with the forces under his command, he could
have easily effected, he had no other way of reinforcing the English
Jacobites, than by attempting to transport a part of his army across
the Frith. As there were several English men-of-war in the Frith,
the idea of sending a body of 2,000 men across such an extensive arm
of the sea appeared chimerical; yet, nevertheless, Mar resolved upon
this bold and hazardous attempt.
To command this adventurous expedition, the Jacobite general
pitched upon Old Borlum, as Brigadier Mackintosh was familiarly
called, who readily undertook, with the assistance of the Earl of
Panmure, and other able officers, to perform a task which few men,
even of experience, would have undertaken without a grudge. For
this hazardous service, a picked body of 2,500 men was selected,
consisting of the whole of the Mackintoshes, and the greater part of
Mar’s own regiment, and of the regiments of the Earl of Strathmore,
Lord Nairne, Lord Charles Murray, and Drummond of Logie-Drummond.
To escape the men-of-war, which were stationed between Leith and
Burntisland, it was arranged that the expedition should embark at
Crail, Pittenweem, and Elie, three small towns near the mouth of the
Frith, whither the troops were to proceed with the utmost secrecy
and expedition by the most unfrequented ways through the interior of
Fife. At the same time, to amuse the ships of war, it was concerted
that another small and select body should openly march across the
country to Burntisland, seize upon the boats in the harbour, and make
preparations as if they intended to cross the Frith. With remarkable
foresight, Mar gave orders that the expedition should embark with
the flowing of the tide, that in case of detection, the ships of war
should be obstructed by it in their pursuit down the Frith.
Accordingly, on the 9th or 10th of October, both detachments left
Perth escorted by a body of horse under the command of Sir John
Erskine of Alva, the Master of Sinclair, and Sir James Sharp,
grandson of Archbishop Sharp of St. Andrews; and whilst the main
body proceeded in a south-easterly direction, through the district
of Fife bordering upon the Tay, so as to pass unobserved by the
men-of-war, the other division marched directly across the country
to Burntisland, where they made a feint as if preparing to embark
in presence of the ships of war which then lay at anchor in Leith
Roads. When the commanders of these vessels observed the motions of
the insurgents, they manned their boats and despatched them across to
attack them should they venture out to sea, and slipping their cables
they stood over with their vessels to the Fife shore to support
their boats. As the boats and ships approached, the insurgents, who
had already partly embarked, returned on shore; and those on land
proceeded to erect a battery, as if for the purpose of covering
the embarkation. An interchange of shots then took place without
damage on either side, till night put an end to hostilities. In the
meantime, Brigadier Mackintosh had arrived at the different stations
fixed for his embarkation, at the distance of nearly 20 miles from
the ships of war, and was actively engaged in shipping his men in
boats which had been previously secured for their reception by his
friends in these quarters. The first division crossed the same night,
being Wednesday the 12th of October, and the second followed next
morning. When almost half across the channel, which, between the
place of embarkation and the opposite coast, is about 16 or 17 miles
broad, the fleet of boats was descried from the topmasts of the
men-of-war, and the commanders then perceived, for the first time,
the deception which had been so successfully practised upon them by
the detachment at Burntisland. Unfortunately, at the time they made
this discovery, both wind and tide were against them; but they sent
out their boats fully manned, which succeeded in capturing only two
boats with 40 men, who were carried into Leith, and committed to
jail. As soon as the tide changed, the men-of-war proceeded down
the Frith, in pursuit, but they came too late, and the whole of the
boats, with the exception of eight, (which being far behind, took
refuge in the Isle of May, to avoid capture,) reached the opposite
coast in perfect safety, and disembarked their men at Gullane, North
Berwick, Aberlady, and places adjacent. The number carried over
amounted to about 1,600. Those who were driven into the Isle of May,
amounting to 200, after remaining therein a day or two, regained the
Fife coast, and returned to the camp at Perth.[703]
The news of Mackintosh’s landing occasioned a dreadful consternation
at Edinburgh, where the friends of the government, astonished at
the boldness of the enterprise, and the extraordinary success which
had attended it, at once conjectured that the brigadier would march
directly upon the capital, where he had many friends, and from which
he was only 16 miles distant. As the city was at this time wholly
unprovided with the means of defence, Campbell, the provost, a
warm partisan of the government, adopted the most active measures
for putting it in a defensive state. The well affected among the
citizens formed themselves into a body for its defence, under the
name of the Associate Volunteers, and these, with the city guards and
trained bands, had different posts assigned them, which they guarded
with great care and vigilance. Even the ministers of the city, to
show an example to the lay citizens, joined the ranks of the armed
volunteers. The provost, at the same time, sent an express to the
Duke of Argyle, requesting him to send, without delay, a detachment
of regular troops to support the citizens.
After the brigadier had mustered his men, he marched to Haddington,
in which he took up his quarters for the night to refresh his
troops, and wait for the remainder of his detachment, which he
expected would follow. According to Mackintosh’s instructions, he
should have marched directly for England, to join the insurgents in
Northumberland, but having received intelligence of the consternation
which prevailed at Edinburgh, and urged, it is believed, by pressing
solicitations from some of the Jacobite inhabitants to advance upon
the capital, as well as lured by the eclat which its capture would
confer upon his arms, and the obvious advantages which would thence
ensue, he marched rapidly towards Edinburgh the following morning.
He arrived in the evening of the same day, Friday 14th October, at
Jock’s Lodge, about a mile from the city, where, being informed of
the measures which had been taken to defend it, and that the Duke
of Argyle was hourly expected from Stirling with a reinforcement,
he immediately halted, and called a council of war. After a short
consultation, they resolved, in the meantime, to take possession of
Leith. Mackintosh, accordingly, turning off his men to the right,
marched into the town without opposition. He immediately released
from jail the 40 men who had been taken prisoners by the boats
of the men-of-war, and seized a considerable quantity of brandy
and provisions, which he found in the custom-house. He then took
possession of and quartered his men in the citadel which had been
built by Oliver Cromwell. This fort, which was of a square form,
with four demi-bastions, and surrounded by a large dry ditch, was
now in a very dismantled state, though all the outworks, with the
exception of the gates, were entire. Within the walls were several
houses, built for the convenience of sea-bathing, and which served
the new occupants in lieu of barracks. To supply the want of gates,
Mackintosh formed barricades of beams, planks, and of carts filled
with earth, stone, and other materials, and seizing six or eight
pieces of cannon which he found in some vessels in the harbour, he
planted two of them at the north end of the drawbridge, and the
remainder upon the ramparts of the citadel. Within a few hours,
therefore, after he had entered Leith, Mackintosh was fully prepared
to withstand a siege, should the Duke of Argyle venture to attack him.
Whilst Mackintosh was in full march upon the capital from the east,
the Duke of Argyle was advancing upon it with greater rapidity from
the west, at the head of 400 dragoons and 200 foot, mounted, for the
sake of greater expedition, upon farm-horses. He entered the city
by the west port about ten o’clock at night, and was joined by the
horse militia of Lothian and the Merse with a good many volunteers,
both horse and foot, who, with the Marquis of Tweeddale, Lord
Belhaven, and others, had retired into Edinburgh on the approach
of the insurgents. These, with the addition of the city guard and
volunteers, increased his force to nearly 1,200 men. With this body
the duke marched down towards Leith next morning, Saturday, 15th
October; but before he reached the town many of the “brave gentlemen
volunteers,”[704] whose enthusiasm had cooled while contemplating the
probable consequences of encountering in deadly strife the determined
band to which they were to be opposed, slunk out of the ranks and
retired to their homes. On arriving near the citadel, Argyle posted
the dragoons and foot on opposite sides, and along with Generals
Evans and Wightman, proceeded to reconnoitre the fort on the sea
side. Thereafter he sent in a summons to the citadel requiring the
rebels to surrender under the pain of high treason, and declaring
that if they obliged him to employ cannon to force them, and killed
any of his men in resisting him, he would give them no quarter. To
this message the laird of Kynnachin, a gentleman of Athole, returned
this resolute answer, that as to surrendering they did not understand
the word, which could therefore only excite laughter--that if his
grace thought he was able to make an assault, he might try, but
he would find that they were fully prepared to meet it; and as to
quarter they were resolved, in case of attack, neither to take nor to
give any.
This answer was followed by a discharge from the cannon on the
ramparts, which made Argyle soon perceive the mistake he had
committed in advancing without cannon. Had his force been equal and
even numerically superior to that of Mackintosh, he could not have
ventured without almost certain destruction, to have carried the
citadel sword in hand, as he found that before his men could reach
the foot of the wall or the barricaded positions, they would probably
have been exposed to five rounds from the besieged, which, at a
moderate computation, would have cut off one half of his men. His
cavalry, besides, on account of the nature of the ground, could have
been of little use in an assault; and as, under such circumstances,
an attack was considered impracticable, the duke retired to Edinburgh
in the evening to make the necessary preparations for a siege.
While deliberating on the expediency of making an attack, some of
the volunteers were very zealous for it, but on being informed that
it belonged to them as volunteers to lead the way, they heartily
approved of the duke’s proposal to defer the attempt till a more
seasonable opportunity.[705]
Had the Earl of Mar been apprised in due time of Mackintosh’s advance
upon Edinburgh, and of the Duke of Argyle’s departure from Stirling,
he would probably have marched towards the latter place, and might
have crossed the Forth above the bridge of Stirling, without any
very serious opposition from the small force stationed in the
neighbourhood; but he received the intelligence of the brigadier’s
movement too late to make it available, had he been inclined;
moreover it appears that he had resolved not to cross the Forth till
joined by General Gordon’s detachment.[706]
On returning to Edinburgh the Duke of Argyle gave orders for the
removal of some pieces of cannon from the castle to Leith, with
the intention of making an assault upon the citadel the following
morning with the whole of his force, including the dragoons, which
he had resolved to dismount for the occasion. But he was saved the
necessity of such a hazardous attempt, the insurgents evacuating
the place the same night. Old Borlum, seeing no chance of obtaining
possession of Edinburgh, and considering that the occupation of the
citadel, even if tenable, was not of sufficient importance to employ
such a large body of men in its defence, had resolved, shortly after
the departure of the duke, to abandon the place, and to retrace his
steps without delay, and with all the secrecy in his power. Two hours
before his departure, he sent a boat across the Frith with despatches
to the Earl of Mar, giving him a detail of his proceedings since his
landing, and informing him of his intention to retire. To deceive
the men-of-war which lay at anchor in the Roads, he caused a shot to
be fired after the boat, which had the desired effect of making the
officers in command of the ships think the boat had some friends of
the government on board, and thus allowing her to pursue her course
without obstruction.
At nine o’clock at night, every thing being in readiness, Mackintosh,
favoured by the darkness of the night and low water, left the citadel
secretly, and pursuing his course along the beach, crossed, without
observation, the small rivulet which runs through the harbour at low
water, and which was then about knee deep, and passing the point of
the pier, pursued his route south-eastward along the sands of Leith.
At his departure, Mackintosh was obliged to leave about 40 men behind
him, who having made too free with the brandy which had been found in
the custom-house, were not in a condition to march. These, with some
stragglers who lagged behind, were afterwards taken prisoners by a
detachment of Argyle’s forces, which also captured some baggage and
ammunition.
The Highlanders continued their march during the night, and arrived
at two o’clock on the morning of Sunday, the 16th of October, at
Seaton House, the seat of the Earl of Wintoun, who had already joined
the Viscount Kenmure. Here, during the day, they were joined by a
small party of their friends, who had crossed the Frith some time
after the body which marched to Leith had landed, and who, from
having disembarked farther to the eastward, had not been able to
reach their companions before their departure for the capital. As
soon as the Duke of Argyle heard of Mackintosh’s retreat, and that
he had taken up a position in Seaton House, which was encompassed by
a very strong and high stone wall, he resolved to follow and besiege
him in his new quarters. But the duke was prevented from carrying
this design into execution by receiving intelligence that Mar was
advancing upon Stirling with the intention of crossing the Forth.
Being apprised by the receipt of Mackintosh’s despatch from Leith,
of the Brigadier’s design to march to the south, Mar had resolved,
with the view principally of facilitating his retreat from Leith,
to make a movement upon Stirling, and thereby induce the Duke of
Argyle to return to the camp in the Park with the troops which he had
carried to Edinburgh. Mar, accordingly, left Perth on Monday the
17th of October, and General Witham, the commander of the royalist
forces at Stirling in Argyle’s absence, having on the previous day
received notice of Mar’s intention, immediately sent an express to
the duke, begging him to return to Stirling immediately, and bring
back the forces he had taken with him to Edinburgh. The express
reached Edinburgh at an early hour on Monday morning, and the duke
immediately left Edinburgh for Stirling, leaving behind him only 100
dragoons and 150 foot under General Wightman. On arriving at Stirling
that night he was informed that Mar was to be at Dunblane next
morning with his whole army, amounting to nearly 10,000 men.[707]
The arrival of his Grace was most opportune, for Mar had in fact
advanced the same evening, with all his horse, to Dunblane, little
more than six miles from Stirling, and his foot were only a short way
off from the latter place. Whether Mar would have really attempted
the passage of the Forth but for the intelligence he received next
morning, is very problematical; but having been informed early on
Tuesday of the duke’s return, and of the arrival of Evans’s regiment
of dragoons from Ireland, he resolved to return to Perth. In a letter
which he wrote to Mr. Forster from Perth on the 21st of October,
after alluding to the information he had received, he gives as an
additional reason for this determination, that he had left Perth
before provisions could be got ready for his army, and that he found
all the country about Stirling, where he meant to pass the Forth, so
entirely exhausted by the enemy that he could find nothing to subsist
upon. Besides, from a letter he had received from General Gordon, he
found the latter could not possibly join him that week, and he could
not think of passing the Forth, under the circumstances detailed,
till joined by him. Under these difficulties, and having accomplished
one of the objects of his march, by withdrawing the Duke of Argyle
from the pursuit of his friends in Lothian, he had thought fit, he
observes, to march back from Dunblane to Auchterarder, and thence
back to Perth, there to wait for Gordon and the Earl of Seaforth.
Mackintosh, in expectation probably of an answer to his despatch
from Leith, appeared to be in no hurry to leave Seaton House, where
his men fared sumptuously upon the best which the neighbourhood could
afford. As all communication was cut off between him and the capital
by the 100 dragoons which Argyle had left behind, and a party of 300
gentlemen-volunteers under the command of the Earl of Rothes, who
patrolled in the neighbourhood of Seaton House, Mackintosh was in
complete ignorance of Argyle’s departure from the capital, and of
Mar’s march. This was fortunate, as it seems probable that had the
Brigadier been aware of these circumstances, he would have again
advanced upon the capital, and might have captured it. During the
three days that Mackintosh lay in Seaton House, no attempt was, of
course, made to dislodge him from his position, but he was subjected
to some petty annoyances by the volunteers and dragoons, between whom
and the Highlanders some occasional shots were interchanged without
damage on either side. Having deviated from the line of instructions,
Mackintosh appears to have been anxious, before proceeding south, to
receive from Mar such new or additional directions as a change of
circumstances might require. Mar lost no time in replying to Borlum’s
communication, and on Tuesday the 18th of October, Borlum received a
despatch desiring him to march immediately towards England, and form
a junction near the borders with the English Jacobite forces under
Mr. Forster, and those of the south of Scotland under Lord Kenmure.
On the same day, Mackintosh received a despatch from Mr. Forster,
requesting him to meet him without delay at Kelso or Coldstream.[708]
To give effect to these instructions, Mackintosh left Seaton House
next morning, and proceeded across the country towards Longformacus,
which he reached that night. Doctor Sinclair, the proprietor of
Hermandston House, had incurred the Brigadier’s displeasure by his
treatment of the laird of Keith, to revenge which he threatened
to burn Sinclair’s mansion in passing it on his way south, but he
was persuaded not to carry his threat into execution. He, however,
ordered his soldiers to plunder the house, a mandate which they
obeyed with the utmost alacrity. When Major-general Wightman heard of
Mackintosh’s departure, he marched from Edinburgh with some dragoons,
militia and volunteers, and took possession of Seaton House. After
demolishing the wall which surrounded it, he returned to Edinburgh in
the evening, carrying along with him some Highlanders who had lagged
behind or deserted from Mackintosh on his march.[709]
Mackintosh took up his quarters at Longformacus during the night, and
continued his march next morning to Dunse, where he arrived during
the day and proclaimed the Chevalier. Here Mackintosh halted two
days, and on the morning of Saturday the 22d of October, set out on
his march to Kelso, the appointed place of rendezvous, whither the
Northumbrian forces under Forster were marching the same day. Sir
William Bennet of Grubbet and his friends hearing of the approach
of these two bodies, left the town the preceding night, and, after
dismissing their followers, retired to Edinburgh. The united forces
of Forster and Kenmure entered Kelso about one o’clock on Saturday.
The Highlanders had not then arrived, but hearing that they were not
far off, the Scottish cavalry, to mark their respect for the bravery
the Highlanders had shown in crossing the Frith, marched out as far
as Ednam bridge to meet them, and accompanied them into the town
about three o’clock in the afternoon, amidst the martial sounds of
bagpipes. The forces under Mackintosh now amounted to 1,400 foot and
600 horse; but a third of the latter consisted of menial servants.
The following day, being Sunday, was entirely devoted by the
Jacobites to religious duties. Patten, the historian of the
insurrection, an episcopal minister and one of their chaplains, in
terms of instructions from Lord Kenmure, who had the command of the
troops while in Scotland, preached in the morning in the great church
of Kelso, formerly the abbey of David I., to a mixed congregation
of Catholics, Presbyterians and Episcopalians, from Deuteronomy
xxi. 17. “The right of the first-born is his.”[710] The prayers on
this occasion were read by Mr. Buxton, formerly alluded to. In the
afternoon Mr. William Irvine, an old Scottish Episcopalian minister,
chaplain to the Earl of Carnwath, read prayers, and delivered a
sermon full of exhortations to his hearers to be zealous and steady
in the cause of the Chevalier. This discourse, he afterwards told
his colleague, Mr. Patten, he had formerly preached in the Highlands
about twenty-six years before, in presence of Lord Viscount Dundee
and his army.
Next morning the Highlanders were drawn up in the church-yard,
and thence marched to the market-cross with colours flying, drums
beating, and bagpipes playing, when the Chevalier was proclaimed
by Seaton of Barnes, who claimed the vacant title of Earl of
Dunfermline. After finishing the proclamation, he read the manifesto
quoted in the conclusion of last chapter, at the end of which the
people with loud acclamations shouted, “No union! no malt-tax! no
salt-tax!”[711]
The insurgents remained three days in Kelso, chiefly occupied in
searching for arms and plundering the houses of some of the loyalists
in the neighbourhood. They took possession of some pieces of cannon
which had been brought by Sir William Bennet from Hume castle for the
defence of the town, and which had formerly been employed to protect
that ancient stronghold against the attacks of the English. They also
seized some broadswords which they found in the church, and a small
quantity of gunpowder. Whilst at Kelso, Mackintosh seized the public
revenue, as was his uniform custom in every town through which he
passed.
During their stay at Kelso, the insurgents seem to have come to no
determination as to future operations; but the arrival of General
Carpenter with three regiments of dragoons, and a regiment of foot,
at Wooler, forced them to resolve upon something decisive. Lord
Kenmure, thereupon, called a council of war to deliberate upon the
course to be pursued. According to the opinions of the principal
officers, there were three ways of proceeding. The first, which
was strongly urged by the Earl of Wintoun, was to march into the
west of Scotland, to reduce Dumfries and Glasgow, and thereafter to
form a junction with the western clans, under General Gordon, to
open a communication with the Earl of Mar, and threaten the Duke of
Argyle’s rear. The second was to give battle immediately to General
Carpenter, who had scarcely 1,000 men under him, the greater part
of whom consisted of newly-raised levies, who had never seen any
service. This plan was supported by Mackintosh, who was so intent
upon it, that, sticking his pike in the ground, he declared that he
would not stir, but would wait for General Carpenter, and fight him,
as he was sure there would be no difficulty in beating him. The last
plan, which was that of the Northumberland gentlemen, was to march
directly through Cumberland and Westmoreland into Lancashire, where
the Jacobite interest was very powerful, and where they expected to
be joined by great numbers of the people. Old Borlum was strongly
opposed to this view, and pointed out the risk which they would run,
if met by an opposing force, which they might calculate upon, while
General Carpenter was left in their rear. He contended, that if they
succeeded in defeating Carpenter, they would soon be able to fight
any other troops,--that if Carpenter should beat them, they had
already advanced far enough, and that they would be better able, in
the event of a reverse, to shift for themselves in Scotland than in
England.[712]
Either of the two first-mentioned plans was far preferable to
the last, even had the troops been disposed to adopt it; but the
aversion of the Highlanders to a campaign in England was almost
insuperable; and nothing could mark more strongly the fatuity of the
Northumberland Jacobites, than to insist, under these circumstances,
upon marching into England. But they pertinaciously adhered to their
opinion, and, by doing so, may be truly said to have ruined the cause
which they had combined to support. As the comparatively small body
of troops under Argyle was the only force in Scotland from which
the insurgents had any thing to dread, their whole attention should
have been directed in the first place to that body, which could not
have withstood the combined attacks of the forces which the rebels
had in the field, amounting to about 16,000 men. The Duke of Argyle
must have been compelled, had the three divisions of the insurgent
army made a simultaneous movement upon Stirling, to have hazarded
a battle, and the result would very probably have been disastrous
to his arms. Had such an event occurred, the insurgents would have
immediately become masters of the whole of Scotland, and would soon
have been in a condition to have carried the war into England with
every hope of success.
Amidst the confusion and perplexity occasioned by these differences
of opinion, a sort of medium course was in the mean time resolved
upon, till the chiefs of the army should reconcile their divisions.
The plan agreed upon was, that they should, to avoid an immediate
encounter with General Carpenter, decamp from Kelso, and proceed
along the border in a south-westerly direction towards Jedburgh:
accordingly, on Thursday the 27th of October, the insurgents
proceeded on their march. The disagreement which had taken place had
cooled their military fervour, and a feeling of dread, at the idea of
being attacked by Carpenter’s force, soon began to display itself.
Twice, on the march to Jedburgh, were they thrown into a state of
alarm, approaching to terror,[713] by mistaking a party of their own
men for the troops of General Carpenter.
Instead of advancing upon Jedburgh, as they supposed Carpenter would
have done, the insurgents ascertained that he had taken a different
direction in entering Scotland, and that from their relative
positions, they were considerably in advance of him in the proposed
route into England. The English officers thereupon again urged their
views in council, and insisted upon them with such earnestness, that
Old Borlum was induced, though with great reluctance, and not till
after very high words had been exchanged, to yield. Preparatory
to crossing the Borders, they despatched one Captain Hunter (who,
from following the profession of a horse-stealer on the Borders, was
well acquainted with the neighbouring country,) across the hills,
to provide quarters for the army in North Tynedale; but he had not
proceeded far, when an order was sent after him countermanding his
march, in consequence of a mutiny among the Highlanders, who refused
to march into England. The English horse, after expostulating with
them, threatened to surround and compel them to march; but Mackintosh
informed them that he would not allow his men to be so treated,
and the Highlanders themselves despising the threat, gave them to
understand that they would resist the attempt.[714]
The determination, on the part of the Highlanders, not to march into
England, staggered the English gentlemen; but as they saw no hopes
of inducing their northern allies to enter into their views, they
consented to waive their resolution in the meantime, and by mutual
consent the army left Jedburgh on the 29th of October for Hawick,
about ten miles to the south-west. While on the march to Hawick, a
fresh mutiny broke out among the Highlanders, who, suspecting that
the march to England was still resolved upon, separated themselves
from the rest of the army, and going up to the top of a rising ground
on Hawick moor, grounded their arms, declaring, at the same time,
that although they were determined not to march into England, they
were ready to fight the enemy on Scottish ground. Should the chiefs
of the army decline to lead them against Carpenter’s forces, they
proposed, agreeably to the Earl of Wintoun’s advice, either to march
through the west of Scotland and join the clans under General Gordon,
by crossing the Forth above Stirling, or to co-operate with the Earl
of Mar, by falling upon the Duke of Argyle’s rear, while Mar himself
should assail him in front. But the English officers would listen to
none of these propositions, and again threatened to surround them
with the horse and force them to march. The Highlanders, exasperated
at this menace, cocked their pistols, and told their imprudent
colleagues that if they were to be made a sacrifice, they would
prefer being destroyed in their own country. By the interposition of
the Earl of Wintoun a reconciliation was effected, and the insurgents
resumed their march to Hawick, on the understanding that the
Highlanders should not be again required to march into England.[715]
The insurgents passed the night at Hawick, during which the courage
of the Highlanders was put to the test, by the appearance of a party
of horse, which was observed by their advanced posts patrolling in
front. On the alarm being given, the Highlanders immediately flew to
arms, and forming themselves in very good order by moonlight, waited
with firmness the expected attack; but the affair turned out a false
alarm, purposely got up, it is believed, by the English commanders,
to try how the Highlanders would conduct themselves, should an enemy
appear.[716] Next morning, being Sunday, the 30th of October, the
rebels marched from Hawick to Langholm, about which time General
Carpenter entered Jedburgh. They arrived at Langholm in the evening,
and with the view, it is supposed, of attacking Dumfries, they sent
forward to Ecclefechan, during the night, a detachment of 400 horse,
under the Earl of Carnwath, for the purpose of blocking up Dumfries
till the foot should come up. This detachment arrived at Ecclefechan
before day-light, and, after a short halt, proceeded in the direction
of Dumfries; but they had not advanced far, when they were met by
an express from some of their friends at Dumfries, informing them
that great preparations had been made for the defence of the town.
The Earl of Carnwath immediately forwarded the express to Langholm,
and, in the meantime, halted his men on Blacket ridge, a moor in the
neighbourhood of Ecclefechan, till further orders. The express was
met by the main body of the army about two miles west from Langholm,
on its march to Dumfries.
The intelligence thus conveyed, immediately created another schism
in the army. The English, who had been prevailed upon, from the
advantages held out to the Jacobite cause by the capture of such an
important post as Dumfries, to accede to the proposal for attacking
it, now resumed their original intention of marching into England.
The Highlanders, on the other hand, insisted upon marching instantly
upon Dumfries, which they alleged might be easily taken, as there
were no regular forces in it. It was in vain that the advocates
of this plan urged upon the English the advantages to be derived
from the possession of a place so convenient as Dumfries was, for
receiving succours from France and Ireland, and for keeping up a
communication with England and their friends in the west of Scotland.
It was to no purpose they were assured, that there were a great
many arms and a good supply of powder in the town, which they might
secure, and that the Duke of Argyle, whom they appeared to dread,
was in no condition to injure them, as he had scarcely 2,000 men
under him, and was in daily expectation of being attacked by the
Earl of Mar, whose forces were then thrice as numerous;--these and
similar arguments were entirely thrown away upon men who had already
determined at all hazards to adhere to their resolution of carrying
the war into England. To induce the Scottish commanders to concur
in their views, they pretended that they had received letters from
their friends in Lancashire inviting them thither, and assuring them
that on their arrival a general insurrection would take place, and
that they would be immediately joined by 20,000 men, and would have
money and provisions in abundance. The advantages of a speedy march
into England being urged with extreme earnestness by the English
officers, all their Scottish associates, with the exception of the
Earl of Wintoun, at last consented to try the chances of war on the
soil of England. Even Old Borlum, (who, at the time the parties were
discussing the point in dispute, was busily engaged at a distance
from the place where the main body had halted, restraining a party
of the Highlanders from deserting,) yielded to the entreaties of the
English officers, and exerted all his influence to induce his men
to follow his example. By the aid of great promises and money, the
greater part of the Highlanders was prevailed upon to follow the
fortunes of their commander, but about 500 of them marched off in
a body to the north. Before they reached Clydesdale, however, they
were almost all made prisoners by the country people, and lodged
in jail. The Earl of Wintoun, who was quite opposed to the measure
resolved upon, also went off with his adherents, but being overtaken
by a messenger who was despatched after him to remonstrate with him
for abandoning his friends, he consented to return, and immediately
rejoined the army. When overtaken, he drew up his horse, and, after
a momentary pause, as if reflecting on the judgment which posterity
would form of his conduct, observed with chivalrous feeling, that
history should not have to relate of him that he deserted King
James’s interest or his country’s good, but with a deep presentiment
of the danger of the course his associates were about to pursue,
he added, “You,” addressing the messenger, “or any man shall have
liberty to cut these (laying hold of his own ears as he spoke) out of
my head, if we do not all repent it.”
The insurgents, after spiking two pieces of cannon which they had
brought from Kelso, immediately proceeded on their march for England,
and entered Longtown in Cumberland the same night, where they were
joined by the detachment which had been sent to Ecclefechan the
previous night. On the following day, November 1st, they marched to
Brampton, a small market town in Cumberland, where they proclaimed
the Chevalier, and levied the excise duties on malt and ale. Mr.
Forster now opened a commission which he had lately received from
the Earl of Mar, appointing him general of the Jacobite forces in
England. As the men were greatly fatigued by forced marches, having
marched about 100 miles in five successive days, they took up their
quarters at Brampton for the night to refresh themselves. When
General Carpenter heard that the insurgents had entered England,
he left Jedburgh, and recrossing the hills into Northumberland,
threw himself between them and Newcastle, the seizure of which, he
erroneously supposed, was the object of their movement.
Next day the insurgents marched towards Penrith, on approaching
which they received intelligence that the _posse comitatus_ of
Cumberland, amounting to nearly 14,000 men, headed by the sheriff
of the county, and attended by Lord Lonsdale and the Bishop of
Carlisle, had assembled near Penrith on the line of their march to
oppose their advance. Mr., now General Forster, sent forward a party
to reconnoitre, but he experienced no trouble from this immense
rustic force, which broke up and dispersed in the utmost confusion
on hearing of the approach of the reconnoitring party. Patten,
the historian of the rebellion, who had formerly been curate of
Penrith, attempted, at the head of a party of horse, to intercept
his superior, the Bishop of Carlisle, but his lordship escaped. The
insurgents captured some horses and a large quantity of arms, and
also took several prisoners, who being soon released, expressed their
gratitude by shouting, “God save King James and prosper his merciful
army.”[717] To impress the inhabitants of Penrith with a favourable
idea of their strength and discipline, the insurgents halted upon
a moor in the neighbourhood, where they formed themselves in order
of battle, and thereafter entered the town in regular marching
order. The principal inhabitants, from an apprehension of being
plundered, showed great attention to them, in return for which, and
the comfortable entertainment which they received, they abstained
from doing any act which could give offence. They however raised,
according to custom, the excise and other public duties.
Next day the insurgents marched to Appleby, where, as at Penrith,
they proclaimed the Chevalier and seized the public revenue. After
halting two days at this town, they resumed their march on the 5th of
November, and arrived at Kendal, where they took up their quarters
for the night. Next morning, being Sunday, they, after a short march,
reached Kirkby-Lonsdale, where, after proclaiming the Chevalier, they
went to the church in the afternoon, where, in absence of the parson,
who had absconded, Mr. Patten read prayers. This author relates a
singular instance of Jacobite zeal on the part of a gentleman of the
name of Guin, or Gwyn, who entered the churches which lay in the
route of the army, and scratching out the name of King George from
the prayer books, substituted that of the Chevalier in its stead, in
a manner so closely resembling the print that the alteration could
scarcely be perceived.
The insurgents had now marched through two populous counties, but
they had obtained the accession of only two gentlemen to their ranks.
They would probably have received some additions in Cumberland and
Westmoreland, had not precautions been taken by the sheriffs of
these counties beforehand to secure the principal Catholics and
lodge them in the castle of Carlisle. Despairing of obtaining any
considerable accession of force, 17 gentlemen of Teviotdale had left
the army at Appleby, and the Highlanders, who had borne the fatigues
of the march with great fortitude, now began to manifest signs of
impatience at the disappointment they felt in not being joined by
large bodies of men as they were led to expect. Their prospects,
however, began to brighten by the arrival of some Lancashire Catholic
gentlemen and their servants at Kirkby-Lonsdale, and by the receipt
of intelligence the following day, when on their march to Lancaster,
that the Jacobites of Lancashire were ready to join them, and that
the Chevalier had been proclaimed at Manchester.[718]
The insurgents entered Lancaster without opposition, and instantly
marching to the market-place, proclaimed the Chevalier by sound
of trumpet, the whole body being drawn up round the cross. After
remaining two days at Lancaster, where the Highlanders regaled
themselves with claret and brandy found in the custom-house, they
took the road to Preston on Wednesday the 9th of November, with the
intention of possessing themselves of Warrington bridge and securing
Manchester, as preliminary to a descent upon Liverpool. The horse
reached Preston at night, two troops of Stanhope’s dragoons and part
of a militia regiment under Sir Henry Houghton, which were quartered
in the town, retiring to Wigan on their approach; but owing to
the badness of the road from a heavy rain which had fallen during
the day, the foot did not arrive till the following day, when the
Chevalier was proclaimed at the cross with the usual formalities. On
the march from Lancaster to Preston, and after their arrival there,
the insurgents were joined by different parties of gentlemen, chiefly
Catholics, with their tenants and servants, to the number of about
1,500 in all, by which additions Forster’s army was increased to
nearly 4,000 men.
Forster, who had kept a strict watch upon Carpenter, and of whose
movements he received regular accounts daily, was, however, utterly
ignorant of the proceedings of a more formidable antagonist, who, he
was made to understand by his Lancashire friends, was at too great
a distance to prove dangerous. This was General Wills, who had the
command in Cheshire, and who was now busily employed in concentrating
his forces for the purpose of attacking the rebels. Unfortunately for
them, the government had been induced, by the tumults and violences
of the high-church party in the west of England during the preceding
year, to quarter bodies of troops in the disaffected districts,
which being disposed at Shrewsbury, Chester, Birmingham, Stafford,
Wolverhampton, Manchester, and other adjacent places, could be
easily assembled together on a short notice. On information being
communicated to the government of the invasion of England, General
Wills had been directed to collect all the forces he could, and to
march upon Warrington bridge and Preston, to prevent the advance of
the insurgents upon Manchester.
General Wills had, accordingly, made great exertions to fulfil,
without delay, the instructions he had received, and hearing that
General Carpenter was at Durham, had sent an express to him to march
westward; but he was unable to save Preston. When the insurgents
entered this town, Wills was at Manchester, waiting for the arrival
of two regiments of foot and a regiment of dragoons, which were
within a few days’ march of him; but alarmed lest by delaying his
march the rebels might make themselves masters of Warrington bridge
and Manchester, by the possession of which they would increase their
force and secure many other advantages, he resolved instantly to
march upon Preston with such troops as he had. He left Manchester,
accordingly, on Friday the 11th of November, for Wigan, with four
regiments of dragoons, one of horse, and Preston’s regiment of foot,
formerly known as the Cameronian regiment. He arrived at Wigan in the
evening, where he met Stanhope’s dragoons and Houghton’s militia,
who had retired from Preston on the evening of the 9th. In the
meantime, the inhabitants of Liverpool anticipating a visit from the
insurgents, were actively employed in preparations for its defence.
Within three days they threw up a breastwork round that part of the
town approachable from the land side, on which they mounted 70 pieces
of cannon, and, to prevent the ships in the harbour from falling into
the hands of the enemy, they anchored them in the offing.
It was the intention of Forster to have left Preston on the morning
of Saturday the 12th; but the unexpected arrival of Wills at Wigan,
of which he received intelligence on the preceding night, made him
alter his design. Forster had been so elated by the addition which
his forces had received at Preston, that he affected to believe that
Wills would never venture to face him; but old Mackintosh advised
him not to be too confident, as they might soon find it necessary
to defend themselves. Observing from a window where they stood,
a party of the new recruits passing by, the veteran warrior thus
contemptuously addressed the inexperienced general, “Look ye there,
Forster, are yon fellows the men ye intend to fight Wills with.
Good faith, Sir, an’ ye had ten thousand of them, I’d fight them
all with a thousand of his dragoons.” In fact, a more uncouth and
unsoldier-like body had never before appeared in the field, than
these Lancashire rustics; some with rusty swords without muskets,
others with muskets without swords, some with fowling-pieces, others
with pitchforks, while others were wholly unprovided with weapons
of any sort.[719] Forster now altered his tone; and if the report
of a writer, who says he was an eye-witness, be true, the news of
Wills’s advance quite unnerved him. Undetermined how to act, he sent
the letter conveying the intelligence to Lord Kenmure, and retired
to rest. His lordship, with a few of his officers, repaired to
Forster’s lodgings to consult him, and, to their surprise, found him
in bed, though the night was not far advanced. The council, after
some deliberation, resolved to send out a party of horse towards
Wigan, to watch the motions of the enemy, to secure the pass into the
town by Ribble bridge, and to prepare the army for battle.[720]
About day-break of the 12th, General Wills commenced his march
from Wigan, and as soon as it was known that he was advancing upon
Preston, a select body of 100 well-armed Highlanders, under the
command of Farquharson of Invercauld, was posted at Ribble bridge,
and Forster himself at the head of a party of horse, crossed the
bridge, and advanced to reconnoitre.
The approach to Ribble bridge, which is about half a mile from
Preston, is by a deep path between two high banks, and so narrow
in some places that scarcely two men can ride abreast. Here it was
that Cromwell, in an action with the royalists, was nearly killed by
a large fragment of a rock thrown from above, and only escaped by
forcing his horse into a quicksand. The possession, therefore, of
this pass, was of the utmost importance to the insurgents, as Wills
was not in a condition to have forced it, being wholly unprovided
with cannon. Nor could he have been more successful in any attempt to
pass the river, which was fordable only at a considerable distance
above and below the bridge, and might have been rendered impassable
in different ways. But the Jacobite general was grossly ignorant
of every thing appertaining to the art of war, and in an evil hour
ordered the party at the bridge to abandon it, and retire into the
town.
General Wills arrived opposite Ribble bridge about one o’clock in
the afternoon, and was surprised to find it undefended. Suspecting
an ambuscade, he advanced through the way leading to the bridge
with great caution, and having cleared the bridge, marched towards
the town. He, at first, supposed that the insurgents had abandoned
the town with the intention of returning to Scotland; but he soon
ascertained that they still maintained their ground, and were
resolved to meet him. Halting, therefore, his men upon a small
rising ground near the town, he rode forward with a strong party of
horse to take a survey of the position of the insurgents.
During the morning they had been busily employed in raising
barricades in the principal streets, and making other preparations
for a vigorous defence. The Earl of Derwentwater displayed
extraordinary activity and zeal on this occasion. He distributed
money among the troops, exhorted them to stand firm to their posts,
and set them an example by throwing off his coat, and assisting them
in raising intrenchments. There were four main barriers erected
across the leading streets near the centre of the town, at each of
which, with one exception, were planted two pieces of cannon, which
had been carried by the insurgents from Lancaster, and beyond these
barriers, towards the extremities of the town, others were raised of
an inferior description. Behind the barricades bodies of men were
posted, as well as in the houses outside the barricades, particularly
in those which commanded the entrances into the principal streets.
Certainly after the abandonment of Ribble bridge, a more judicious
plan of defence could not have been devised by the ablest tactician
for meeting the coming exigency; but unfortunately for the
insurgents, the future conduct of their leaders did not correspond
with these skilful dispositions.
One of the main barriers was a little below the church, and was
commanded by Brigadier Mackintosh, the task of supporting whom was
devolved upon the gentlemen volunteers, who were drawn up in the
churchyard under the command of Viscount Kenmure and the Earls of
Derwentwater, Nithsdale, and Wintoun. A body of Highlanders, under
Lord Charles Murray, third son of the Duke of Athole, was posted at
another barrier at the end of a lane leading to the fields. Colonel
Mackintosh, at the head of the Mackintoshes, was posted at a third
barricade called the Windmill barrier, from its adjoining such a
structure on the road to Lancaster. At the remaining barrier, which
was in the street leading to the Liverpool road, were placed some
of the gentlemen volunteers, and a part of the Earl of Strathmore’s
regiment under the command of Major Miller and Mr. Douglas.
When the government general had made himself acquainted with the
plan of defence adopted by the insurgents, he returned to his main
body, and made preparations for an immediate attack. As he had
not sufficient forces to make a simultaneous assault upon all the
barriers, he resolved to confine himself at first to two only, those
commanded by Old Borlum and Colonel Mackintosh, in the streets
leading to Wigan and Lancaster respectively, at both ends of the
town. For this purpose he divided his troops into three bodies;--the
first consisted of Preston’s regiment of foot, and 250 dismounted
dragoons taken in equal proportions from the five dragoon regiments.
This division was commanded by Brigadier Honeywood, and was supported
by his own regiment of dragoons. The second body consisted of the
regiments of Wynn and Dormer, and a squadron of Stanhope’s regiment,
all of which were dismounted;--the last division, consisting of
Pitt’s horse and the remainder of Stanhope’s regiment, was kept as
a reserve for supporting the other divisions as occasion should
require, and to prevent the insurgents from escaping over the Ribble.
The action was begun by the division of Honeywood, which, after
driving a party of the insurgents from a small barricade at the
extremity of one of the leading streets, entered the town, and
attacked the barrier near the church, defended by Brigadier
Mackintosh; but Honeywood’s men were unable to make any impression,
and after sustaining a galling and destructive fire from the barrier
and from the houses on both sides of the street, they were forced
to retreat from the street with considerable loss. Some of the
officers of Preston’s regiment being informed whilst engaged in the
street, that the street leading to Wigan was not barricaded, and
that the houses on that side were not possessed by the insurgents,
Lord Forrester, the lieutenant-colonel, resolved, after Honeywood’s
division had failed to establish itself in the neighbourhood of the
church, to attempt an entrance in that direction. He accordingly
drew off his men by a narrow back passage or lane which led into the
street in the direction of Wigan, and ordering them to halt till
he should personally survey the position of the insurgents, this
intrepid officer deliberately rode into the street with his drawn
sword in his hand, and amidst a shower of bullets, coolly examined
the barrier, and returned to his troops. He then sallied into the
street at the head of his men, and whilst with one party he attacked
the barrier, another under his direction crossed the street, and took
possession of a very high house belonging to Sir Henry Houghton,
which overlooked the whole town. In this enterprise many of the
assailants fell by the fire of the insurgents who were posted in
the adjoining houses. At the same time, Forrester’s men possessed
themselves of another house opposite, which was unoccupied by the
insurgents. The possession of these houses was of immense advantage
to the government troops, as it was from the firing kept up from them
that the insurgents chiefly suffered. A party of 50 Highlanders,
under Captain Innes, had been posted in Houghton’s house, and another
body in the opposite one; but Brigadier Mackintosh had unfortunately
withdrawn both parties, contrary to their own wishes, to less
important stations.
Forrester’s men maintained the struggle with great bravery, but
were unsuccessful in every attempt to force the barrier. As the
insurgents, from their position in the houses and behind the
barricade, were enabled to take deliberate aim, many of their shots
took deadly effect, and the gallant Lord Forrester received several
wounds; but although Preston’s foot kept up a smart fire, they did
little execution among the insurgents, who were protected by the
barricade and the houses. Captain Peter Farquharson was the only
Jacobite officer who fell in this attack. He received a shot in the
leg, and being taken to the White Bull inn, where the wounded were
carried, he called for a glass of brandy, and thus addressed his
comrades:--“Come lads, here is our master’s health; though I can do
no more, I wish you good success.” Amputation being deemed necessary,
this brave man expired, almost immediately, from the unskilfulness of
the operator.
Whilst this struggle was going on near the church, a contest equally
warm was raging in another quarter of the town between Dormer’s
division and the party under Lord Charles Murray. In approaching the
barrier commanded by this young nobleman, Dormer’s men were exposed
to a well-directed and murderous fire from the houses, yet, though
newly-raised troops, they stood firm, and reached the barricade,
from which, however, they were vigorously repulsed. Lord Charles
Murray conducted himself with great bravery in repelling this attack,
and anticipating a second attempt upon the barrier, he obtained
a reinforcement of 50 gentlemen volunteers from the churchyard.
Dormer’s troops returned to the assault, but although they displayed
great courage and resolution, they were again beaten back with loss.
An attack made on the Windmill barricade, which was defended by
Colonel Mackintosh, was equally unsuccessful.
Thus repulsed in all their attacks, and as in their approaches to
the barriers the government troops had been incessantly exposed to a
regular and well-directed fire from the houses, General Wills issued
orders to set the houses at both ends of the town on fire, for the
purpose of dislodging the insurgents from such annoying positions,
and cooping them up in the centre of the town. Many houses and barns
were in consequence consumed, including almost the entire range of
houses as far as Lord Charles Murray’s barrier. As the assailants
advanced under cover of the smoke of the conflagration, many of
the insurgents, in attempting to escape from the flames, were cut
down on the spot. The rebels in their turn attempted to dislodge
the government troops from the houses of which they had obtained
possession, by setting them on fire. Fortunately there was no wind at
the time, otherwise the whole town would have been reduced to ashes.
Night came on, yet an irregular platooning was, notwithstanding,
kept up till next day by both parties. To distinguish the houses
possessed by the government forces, General Wills ordered them to
be illuminated, a circumstance which gave the besieged a decided
advantage, as the light from the windows enabled them to direct
their fire with better effect. Wills soon perceived the error he
had committed, and sent persons round to order the lights to be
extinguished, which order being promulgated aloud in the streets, was
so strangely misunderstood by those within, that, to the amusement
of both parties, they set up additional lights. During the night a
considerable number of the insurgents left the town.
Before day-break, General Wills visited the different posts, and
gave directions for opening a communication between both divisions
of the army to support each other, should necessity require. During
the morning, which was that of Sunday the 13th of November, he was
occupied in making arrangements for renewing the attack. Meantime
General Carpenter arrived about ten o’clock with Churchill’s and
Molesworth’s dragoons, accompanied by the Earl of Carlisle, Lord
Lumley, and others. This event was as exhilarating to the royalists
as it was disheartening to the besieged, who, notwithstanding the
defection of their more timorous associates during the preceding
night, were, before the accession of Carpenter, fully a match for
their assailants. Wills, after explaining to Carpenter the state of
matters, and the dispositions he had made, offered to resign the
command to him, as his superior officer; but being satisfied with
Wills’s conduct, Carpenter declined to accept it, remarking, that
as he had begun the affair so well, he ought to have the glory of
finishing it. On examining matters himself, however, Carpenter found
that the town was not sufficiently invested, particularly at the end
of Fishergate street, which led to a meadow by which the insurgents
could easily have escaped. He therefore posted Pitt’s horse along
the meadow, and lest the whole body of the besieged should attempt
to force a retreat that way, he caused a communication to be opened
through the enclosures on that side, that the other divisions of the
army might the more readily hasten thither to intercept them.
Thus invested on all sides, and pent up within a narrow compass by
the gradual encroachments of the royalists, the Jacobite general
grew alarmed, and began to think of a surrender. The Highlanders
were fully aware of their critical situation, but the idea of
surrendering had never once entered their minds, and they had been
restrained only by the most urgent entreaties from sallying out
upon the royalists, and cutting their way through their ranks, or
dying, as they remarked, like men of honour, with their swords in
their hands. Neither Forster nor any other officer durst therefore,
venture to make such a proposal to them, and Patten asserts, that
had they known that Colonel Oxburgh had been sent on the mission he
undertook, he would have never seen Tyburn, but would have been shot
by common consent before he had passed the barrier. This gentleman,
who had great influence over Forster (and who, in the opinion of the
last-named author, was better calculated, from the strictness with
which he performed his religious duties, to be a priest than a field
officer), in conjunction with Lord Widdrington and others, prevailed
upon him to make an offer of capitulation, thinking that they would
obtain favourable terms from the government general. This resolution
was adopted without the knowledge of the rest of the officers, and
Oxburgh, who had volunteered to negotiate, went off about two o’clock
in the afternoon to Wills’s head-quarters. To prevent suspicion of
his real errand, the soldiers were informed that General Wills had
sent to offer them honourable terms, if they would lay down their
arms.
The reception of Oxburgh by General Wills was very different from
what he and his friends had anticipated. Wills, in fact, absolutely
refused to hear of any terms, and upon Oxburgh making an offer
that the insurgents should lay down their arms, provided he would
recommend them to the mercy of the king, he informed him that he
would not treat with rebels, who had killed several of his Majesty’s
subjects, and who consequently must expect to undergo the same fate.
The colonel, thereupon, with great earnestness, begged the general,
as an officer and a man of honour, to show mercy to people who
were willing to submit. The royalist commander, somewhat softened,
replied, that all he would promise was, that if the insurgents
would lay down their arms and surrender themselves prisoners at
discretion, he would prevent the soldiers from cutting them to
pieces till further orders; and that he would allow them an hour
for the consideration of his offer. The result of this interview
was immediately reported by Oxburgh to his friends, but nothing had
transpired to throw any light upon their deliberations. Before the
hour had elapsed, Mr. Dalzell, brother of the Earl of Carnwath,
appeared at Wills’s head quarters, and requested to know what terms
he would grant separately to the Scots; Wills answered that he would
not treat with rebels, nor grant any other terms than those already
offered.
To bring matters to an immediate issue, General Wills sent Colonel
Cotton into the town about three o’clock in the afternoon, to require
an immediate answer to Wills’s proposal. He was told, however, that
differences existed between the English and Scottish officers upon
the subject, but they requested that the general would allow them
till seven o’clock next morning to settle their differences, and
to consult upon the best method of delivering themselves up. This
proposal being reported to Wills, he agreed to grant the Jacobite
commanders the time required, provided they would bind themselves to
throw up no new entrenchments in the streets, nor allow any of their
men to escape; for the performance of which stipulations he required
the delivery of approved hostages.--Cotton having returned to the
town, the Earl of Derwentwater and Brigadier Mackintosh were pitched
upon as hostages for the observance of these stipulations, and sent
to the royalist head-quarters.
As soon as the Highlanders perceived that a capitulation was
resolved upon, their fury knew no bounds. They declared that sooner
than surrender, they would die fighting, and that when they could
no longer defend their posts, they would attempt to cut their way
through their assailants, and make a retreat. During the night
they paraded the streets, threatening destruction to every person
who should even allude to a surrender. During these disturbances,
several persons were killed, and many wounded, and Mr. Forster, who
was openly denounced as the originator of the capitulation, would
certainly have been cut to pieces by the infuriated soldiers, had
he appeared in the streets. He made a narrow escape even in his own
chamber, a gentleman of the name of Murray having fired a pistol at
him, the ball from which would have taken effect had not Mr. Patten,
the Jacobite chaplain, struck up the pistol with his hand, and thus
diverted the course of the bullet.
At seven o’clock next morning, Forster notified to General Wills that
the insurgents were willing to surrender at discretion as he had
required. Old Borlum being present when this message was delivered,
observed that he would not be answerable for the Scots surrendering
without terms, as they were people of desperate fortunes; and that
he who had been a soldier himself, knew what it was to be a prisoner
at discretion. “Go back to your people again,” answered Wills, “and
I will attack the town, and the consequence will be I will not spare
one man of you.” After this challenge, Mackintosh could not with a
good grace remain, and returned to his friends; but he came back
immediately, and informed Wills that Lord Kenmure and the rest of the
Scots noblemen would surrender on the same conditions as the English.
Colonel Cotton was thereupon despatched with a detachment of 200 men
to take possession of the town, and the rest of the government forces
thereafter entered it in two grand divisions, amid the sound of
trumpets and beating of drums, and met in the market-place, where the
Highlanders were drawn up under arms ready to surrender. The number
of prisoners taken on this occasion was 1,468, of whom about 463 were
English, including 75 noblemen and gentlemen; of the Scots 143 were
noblemen and gentlemen. The noblemen and gentlemen were placed under
guards in the inns of the town, and the privates were confined in
the church. On the part of the insurgents there were only 17 killed
and 25 wounded in the different attacks, but the loss on the part
of the royalists was very considerable, amounting, it is believed,
to five times the number of the former. From the small number of
prisoners taken, it would appear that few of the country people who
had joined the insurgents when they entered Lancashire, had remained
in Preston. They probably left the town during the nights of Saturday
and Sunday.[721]
FOOTNOTES:
[686] _Annals of 2d year of George I._, p. 30.
[687] Idem, pp. 36-7.
[688] Patten, pp. 159, 160. _Annals of George I._, pp. 39, 40. Rae,
pp. 199, 200.
[689] _Annals of Second Year of George I._, p. 40.--Patten, p. 160.
[690] Rae.
[691] Rae, p. 223.--_Life of John, Duke of Argyle._ London, 1745, pp.
178, 179.
[692] _Life of John Duke of Argyle_, p. 180.
[693] Idem, p. 181.
[694] _Life of the Duke of Argyle_, p. 184.
[695] _Collection of original Letters and Authentic Papers relating
to the Rebellion, 1715_, p. 20.
[696] _Annals of 2d year of George I._, p. 41. Patten, p. 5-155-220.
[697] _Annals of 2d year of George I._, p. 42.
[698] _Annals of George I._, pp. 43, 44. Patten, p. 156. Rae, p. 234.
[699] “Buxton’s sermon gave mighty encouragement to the hearers,
being full of exhortations, flourishing arguments, and cunning
insinuations, to be hearty and zealous in the cause; for he was a man
of a very comely personage, and could humour his discourse to induce
his hearers to believe what he preached, having very good natural
parts, and being pretty well read.”--_Patten_, p. 29.
[700] Patten, pp. 31, 32.--_Annals of George I._, pp. 74, 75.--Rae,
pp. 241, 242.
[701] Rae, pp. 243-245.
[702] Rae. _Faithful Register of the late Rebellion._ London, 1718.
[703] _Annals of George I._, pp. 89-91. Patten, pp. 8, 9.
[704] Rae.
[705] Rae, p. 263.
[706] _Letter to Mr. Forster_, 21st October, 1715.
[707] _Annals of George I._, p. 98. Patten, p. 18. Rae, p. 265.
[708] Patten, p. 20.
[709] Patten, p. 20. _Annals of George I._, p. 101.
[710] “All the lords that were Protestants, with a vast multitude
of people, attended: It was very agreeable to see how decently and
reverently the very common Highlanders behaved, and answered the
responses according to the Rubrick, to the shame of many that pretend
to more polite breeding.”--_Patten_, p. 40.
[711] Patten, p. 49.
[712] _Annals of 2d year of George I._, p. 123. Patten, pp. 53, 64,
65.
[713] Rae.
[714] _Annals of 2d year of George I._, p. 128.
[715] Patten, pp. 67, 68. Rae, pp. 271, 272.
[716] Patten, p. 69.
[717] _Letter about the Occurrences on the way to, and at Preston. By
an Eye Witness_, p. 4.
[718] Patten, p. 89.
[719] _Annals of 2d Year of George I._, p. 136.
[720] _Letter, &c., by an eye-witness_, p. 6.
[721] Patten, p. 97, et seq. _Annals of 2d year of George I._, p.
125, et seq. _Faithful Register of the late Rebellion_, pp. 162, 163,
164.