demanded permission to pursue and attack Cope's soldiers; but the
chiefs saw too clearly the grand advantage offered them of descending
suddenly into the Lowlands by the road thus left open. Whilst Sir John
was making a forced march to Inverness, which he reached on the 29th of
August, the Highlanders were descending like one of their own torrents
southwards. In two days they traversed the mountains of Badenoch; on
the third they reached the Vale of Athol.
On the 30th of August they reached Blair Castle. The Duke of Athol, the
proprietor, fled at their approach, and old Tullibardine resumed his
ancestral mansion, and gave a splendid banquet there to Charles and his
officers. On the third day they resumed their march, and reached Perth
on the 4th of September, which the prince entered on horseback, amid
loud acclamations. Whilst at Perth he received two valuable accessions
to his party--the titular Duke of Perth, who brought with him two
hundred men, and Lord George Murray, the brother of the Duke of Athol,
and a man of considerable military experience.
[Illustration: "GOD SAVE KING JAMES."
FROM THE PAINTING BY ANDREW C. GOW, R.A.]
Hearing that General Cope--who had seen his blunder in leaving open the
highway to the Scottish capital--after having reached Inverness, had
begun a rapid march on Aberdeen, trusting to embark his army there,
and reach Edinburgh in time to defend it from the rebel army, Charles
marched out of Perth on the 11th of September. He reached Dunblane
that evening, and on the 13th he passed the fords of Frew, about eight
miles above Stirling, knowing that several king's ships were lying
at the head of the Firth. On their approach, Gardiner retired with
his dragoons from the opposite bank. Stirling, being deserted by the
troops, was ready to open its gates; but Charles was in too much haste
to reach Edinburgh. Hearing that Gardiner, with his dragoons, intended
to dispute the passage of Linlithgow Bridge, Charles sent on one
thousand Highlanders, before break of day, under Lord George Murray,
in the hope of surprising them; but they found that they had decamped
the evening before, and they took peaceable possession of Falkirk and
the old palace. The prince himself came up on the evening of that
day, Sunday, the 15th, where the whole army passed the night, except
the vanguard, which pushed on to Kirkliston, only eight miles from
Edinburgh.
The consternation of the city may be imagined. The inhabitants, who
had, at first, treated the rumour of the Young Pretender's landing
with ridicule, now passed to the extreme of terror. On Sunday night
the Highlanders lay between Linlithgow and the city, and on Monday
morning Charles sent forward a detachment, which, on coming in sight
of the pickets, discharged their pistols. The dragoon pickets did not
wait to return the fire, but rode off towards Coltbridge, nearer to
Edinburgh, where Gardiner lay with the main body of horse. No sooner,
however, did this commander perceive the advancing Highlanders, than
he also gave the order to retreat, and the order was so well obeyed,
that from a foot's-pace the march quickened into a trot and presently
into a gallop, and the inhabitants of Edinburgh saw the whole force
going helter-skelter towards Leith, where they drew bit. The valiant
troops mounted again, and galloped to Preston, six miles farther, some
of them, it was said, not stopping till they reached Dunbar. This
"Canter of Coltbridge," as it was called in derision, left the city at
the mercy of the Highlanders, except for about six or seven hundred
men mustered from the City Guard, the volunteer corps, and some armed
gentlemen from Dalkeith and Musselburgh, who took post at the gates.
The magistrates, now summoned by the Lord Provost to a meeting in
the Goldsmiths' Hall, resolved to send a deputation to the prince,
desiring that he would cease hostilities till they had had time to
decide what they should do. Scarcely had the deputies set out, when
news came that the transports, with Cope's army on board, were seen
off Dunbar, the wind being unfavourable for making Leith, and that
his troops would soon be landed, and in full march for the city. It
was now determined to recall the deputation, but that was found to
be too late, and General Guest was applied to to return the muskets,
bayonets, and cartridge boxes which had been given up to him. Guest
very properly regarded men who had thrown up their arms in a panic as
unfit to be trusted with them again, and advised that the dragoons
should be ordered to unite with Cope's infantry, and advance on the
city with all possible speed. About ten o'clock at night the deputation
returned, having met the prince at Gray's Mill, only two miles from
the city, who gave them a letter to the authorities, declaring that
they had a sufficient security in his father's declarations and his own
manifesto; and he only gave them till two o'clock in the morning to
consider his terms. The deputation returned in the utmost dejection,
little deeming that the prince had taken such measures as should render
them the means of surrendering the city. But Charles had despatched
Lochiel and Murray of Broughton, with eight hundred Camerons, to watch
every opportunity of surprising the town, carrying with them a barrel
of gunpowder to blow up one of the gates. This detachment had arrived,
and hidden themselves in ambush near the Netherbow Port. The deputation
passed in with their coach by another gate, and the ambush lay still
till the coachman came out at the Netherbow Port to take his carriage
and horses to the stables in the suburbs. The ambush rushed upon the
gate before it could be closed, secured the sentinels, ran forward to
the other gate, and secured its keepers also. When the inhabitants rose
in the morning they were astonished to find the city in possession of
the Highlanders. On the 17th of September Charles occupied Holyrood.
Amidst wild enthusiasm, the Old Pretender was proclaimed as King James
VIII. at the Cross, Murray of Broughton's beautiful wife sitting on
horseback, with a drawn sword in her right hand, while with her left
she distributed white favours to the crowd.
But there was no time for festivities. The English army was
approaching, and it was necessary for Charles to assert his right
by hard blows as well as by proclamations. The citizens stood aloof
from his standard; but Lord Nairn arrived most opportunely from the
Highlands with five hundred of the clan Maclachlan, headed by their
chief, and accompanied by a number of men from Athol. These swelled
his little army to upwards of two thousand five hundred, and Charles
declared that he would immediately lead them against Cope. The chiefs
applauded this resolution, and on the morning of the 19th he marched
out to Duddingston, where the troops lay upon their arms, and then he
summoned a council of war. He proposed to continue the march the next
morning, and meet Cope upon the way. In the highest spirits the clans
marched on through Musselburgh and over the heights at Carberry, where
Mary Queen of Scots made her last unfortunate fight, nor did they stop
till they came in sight of the English army.
Cope had landed his force at Dunbar on the very day that the prince
entered Edinburgh. His disembarkation was not completed till the 18th.
Lord Loudon had joined him at Inverness with two hundred men, and now
he met the runaway dragoons, six hundred in number, so that his whole
force amounted to two thousand two hundred men--some few hundreds less
than the Highlanders. Sir John took the level road towards Edinburgh,
marching out of Dunbar on the 19th of September. Next day Lord Loudon,
who acted as adjutant-general, rode forward with a reconnoitring party,
and soon came back at a smart trot to announce that the rebels were not
approaching by the road and the open country to the west, but along
the heights to the south. Sir John, therefore, altered his route, and
pushed on to Prestonpans, where he formed his army in battle array. He
placed his foot in the centre, with a regiment of dragoons and three
pieces of artillery on each wing. His right was covered by Colonel
Gardiner's park wall and the village of Preston; his left extended
towards Seaton House, and in his rear lay the sea, with the villages of
Prestonpans and Cockenzie. Between him and the Highlanders was a deep
morass.
The night was cold, and the two armies lay on the ground. In the middle
of the night Anderson of Whitburgh, a gentleman whose father had been
out in the 'Fifteen and who knew the country well, suddenly recollected
a way across the bog to the right. He communicated this to Hepburn
of Keith and Lord George Murray, who went to waken the prince, who,
sitting up in his heap of pea-straw, received the news with exultation.
He started up, a council was called, and as it drew towards morning
it was resolved to follow Anderson as their guide immediately. An
aide-de-camp was despatched to recall Lord Nairn and his five hundred,
and the army marched after Anderson in profound silence. It was not
without some difficulty that they crossed it, after all; some of the
soldiers sank knee-deep, and the prince himself stumbled and fell.
When they reached the firm ground the mounted pickets heard the sound
of their march, though they could not see them for the thick fog. The
dragoon sentinels demanded who went there, fired their pistols, and
galloped off to give the alarm.
Cope maintained the order of battle arranged the day previous, except
that he turned the men's faces towards the east instead of the west,
to meet the new position of the enemy. His infantry was posted in the
centre; Hamilton's dragoons were on the left, and Gardiner's with
the artillery in front, on the right, leaning on the morass. The
Highlanders no sooner saw the enemy than, taking off their caps, they
uttered a short prayer, and pulling their bonnets over their brows,
they rushed forward in their separate clans with a yell that was
frightful.
Colonel Gardiner endeavoured to charge the advancing enemy with his
dragoons; but it was in vain that he attempted to animate their craven
souls by word and example--at the first volley of the Highlanders they
wheeled and fled. The same disgraceful scene took place on the left,
at nearly the same moment. Hamilton's regiment of horse dispersed at
the first charge of the Macdonalds, leaving the centre exposed on
both its flanks. The infantry made a better stand than the cavalry;
it discharged a steady and well-directed volley on the advancing
Highlanders, and killed some of their best men, amongst others, a son
of the famous Rob Roy. But the Highlanders did not give them time for
a second volley; they were up with them, dashed aside their bayonets
with their targets, burst through their ranks in numerous places, so
that the whole, not being able to give way on account of the park wall
of Preston, were thrown into confusion, and at the mercy of the foe.
Never was a battle so instantly decided--it is said not to have lasted
more than five or six minutes; never was a defeat more absolute. Sir
John Cope, or Johnnie Cope, as he will be styled in Scotland to the end
of time, by the assistance of the Earls of Loudon and Home, collected
about four hundred and fifty of the recreant dragoons, and fled to
Coldstream that night. There not feeling secure, they continued their
flight till they reached Berwick, where Sir Mark Kerr received Cope
with the sarcastic but cruelly true remark that he believed that he
was the first general on record who had carried the news of his own
defeat.
[Illustration: PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD STUART (THE "YOUNG PRETENDER").
(_After the Portrait by Tocque_, 1748.)]
Charles was anxious to follow up his victory by marching directly into
England, trusting to the effect of this signal triumph to bring all
inclined to the Stuart dynasty to his standard. He was confident that
if he met with anything like success on the way, a rapid march would
put London in his possession. And, in truth, such was the miserably
misgoverned condition of the country at the time, that, had he come
with a tolerable French army, nothing could have prevented him from
becoming master of the kingdom. Never was England so thoroughly exposed
to foreign danger, so utterly unarmed and unprotected, whilst it had
been sending such armaments to the Continent. Fortunately, the French
had not supported the Pretender on this occasion, as they had promised,
and fortunately, too, when Charles came to review the army with which
he proposed to enter England, there remained of it only one thousand
four hundred men. The rest had gone home with their booty; nay, some
had gone and were returning, not to fight, but to carry off more which
they had concealed.
Accordingly, Charles could do nothing but maintain his position for the
present in Scotland, and send off a messenger to France to announce his
wonderful success, and to urge that now was the moment to hasten over
troops and supplies, and secure the Crown and friendship of England for
ever. He sent over Mr. Kelly to the French Court and to his father, and
for a moment there was a lively disposition at Versailles to strike
the blow. The king immediately despatched some supplies of money and
arms, some of which were seized by English cruisers, and some of
which arrived safely. There was also a talk of sending over Charles's
brother, Henry, Duke of York, at the head of the Irish regiments
and of others, and active preparations were made for the purpose at
Dunkirk. But again this flash of enthusiasm died out, and Charles,
three weeks after Kelly, sent over Sir James Stewart to aid him in his
solicitations. But all was in vain. The French again seemed to weigh
the peril of the expedition, and on their part complained that the
Jacobites showed no zeal in England, without which the invasion would
be madness. Thus the time went by, till the Dutch and English troops
landed in England, and the opportunity was lost.
Meanwhile, Charles, compelled to wait the course of events in
Edinburgh, endeavoured to render himself popular by his moderation
and magnanimity. Volunteers began to flock to his standard, the chief
cause, however, being, no doubt, the _prestige_ of his victory. Fresh
reinforcements poured down from the Highlands. Altogether, Charles's
army now amounted to nearly six thousand men. It would have amounted
to ten thousand had the Macdonalds and Macleods of Skye and Lord
Lovat joined him. But though Charles sent a Macleod of Skye over to
the island chiefs, urging them now to join his standard as certain of
victory, they refused to move. He then went over from Skye to Castle
Dounie to stimulate Lord Lovat, but that deceitful old miscreant was
playing the double game, and waiting to see which side would be the
stronger. At length his army had received the last reinforcements that
he expected, by the arrival of Menzies of Sheen with a considerable
body of men, and he was impatient to march southwards. He was the more
ready to quit Scotland because Lord Lovat had now sent him word that
though he could not, from the state of his health, join the march into
England, both he and the Macdonalds and the Macleods of the Isles
were prepared to defend his interests in the Highlands. The greater
part of this intelligence was false, entirely so as regarded the
Islesmen, and it was now well known that the English Government had got
together twelve thousand veteran troops, besides thirteen regiments
of infantry and two of cavalry newly raised. The Highland chiefs,
therefore, strenuously opposed the march till they should receive the
reinforcements which he had promised them from France, as well as more
money. Others contended that he ought not to invade England at all, but
to remain in Scotland, make himself master of it, and reign there as
his ancestors had done. But it was not merely to secure the Crown of
Scotland that he had come; it was to recover the whole grand heritage
of his race, and he determined to march into England without further
delay. The Highland chiefs, however, resolutely resisted the proposal,
and at three successive councils he strove with them in vain to induce
them to cross the Border and fight the army of Marshal Wade, which
lay at Newcastle, consisting of Dutch and English troops. At length
Charles said indignantly, "Gentlemen, I see you are determined to stay
in Scotland; I am resolved to try my fate in England, and I go, if I go
alone."
Lord George Murray then said that, as they needs must go, he proposed
that they should enter England on the Cumberland side, so as to harass
Wade's troops, if he marched across to meet them. The idea was adopted
as a great improvement; it was kept a profound secret. Still further
to mislead the English, Lord George proposed another plan, which was
also adopted--to divide the army into two columns, to march by two
different routes, but to unite at Carlisle. One of these was to be
led by the prince himself by Kelso, as if intending to march straight
into Northumberland; the other to take the direct road through Moffat.
It was resolved to leave Lord Strathallan to command in Scotland, to
take up his headquarters at Perth, receive the expected succours from
France, and all such reinforcements from the Highlands as should come
in.
These arrangements being complete, Charles lay at Pinkie House on the
31st of October, and the next day, the 1st of November, he commenced
his march. Each of the two columns was preceded by a number of horsemen
to act as scouts. In the day of battle each company of a regiment
furnished two of its best men to form the bodyguard of the chief, who
usually took his post in the centre, and was surrounded by his brothers
and cousins, with whom it was a point of honour to defend the chief to
the death. So set forward the Highland army for England, and it is now
necessary to see what preparations England had made for the invasion.
The news of the invasion brought George from Hanover. He arrived in
London on the last day of August, by which time the Young Pretender
had already been entertained by Lord Tullibardine at Blair Castle;
but he seemed to feel no great alarm. He thought the forces of Cope
were sufficient to compete with the insurgents, and Lord Granville and
his party did their best to confirm him in this opinion. On the 20th
of September three battalions of the expected Dutch forces landed,
and received orders to march north. But what contributed more than
anything to the security of the kingdom was the activity of the fleet.
The seamen all round the coasts showed as much spirit and life as the
soldiers had shown cowardice. Privateers as well as men-of-war vied
with one another in performing feats of bravery. A small ship off
Bristol took a large Spanish ship, bound for Scotland, with arms and
money. Another small ship took the _Soleil_, from Dunkirk, carrying
twenty French officers and sixty men, to Montrose; and a small squadron
of privateers, which volunteered to serve under a brave naval captain,
took a vast number of French vessels, and drove still more upon their
own shores. Charles's younger brother, Henry, was waiting to bring
over the Irish regiments to his aid, but Louis would not hazard their
appearance at sea in the face of such a dangerous fleet. Charles made
an attempt to corrupt Captain Beavor, of the _Fox_ man-of-war, by
offering him splendid rewards in case of his success, but the gallant
officer sent him word that he only treated with principals, and that,
if he would come on board, he would talk with him.
In London, notwithstanding, there was considerable alarm, but rather
from fear of the Papists and Jacobites at home than of any danger
from abroad. Every endeavour had been used, in fact, to revive the
old Popery scare. There were rumours circulated that the Papists
meant to rise, cut everybody's throats, and burn the City. There
was fear of a run on the Bank of England, but the merchants met at
Garraway's Coffee-house, and entered into engagements to support the
Bank. They also opened a subscription to raise two hundred and fifty
thousand pounds to enlist troops, and many of them gave as much as two
thousand pounds apiece. A camp was formed in Hyde Park of the Household
Troops, horse and foot, a regiment of horse grenadiers, and some of
the battalions that came over from Flanders. In the provinces many of
the great nobility proposed to raise regiments at their own expense,
and this act of patriotism was loudly applauded. In some instances
the patriotism was real. But the main body of the Whig nobility and
some others cut a very different figure. No sooner did Parliament
meet on the 18th of October, and whilst the Jacobites were in the
highest spirits, and opposing both the Address and the suspension of
the Habeas Corpus, than the Dukes of Devonshire, Bedford, Rutland,
Montague, the Lords Herbert, Halifax, Cholmondeley, Falmouth, Malton,
Derby, and others, moved, contrary to their splendid promises, that
their regiments should be paid by the king, and should be put upon
the regular establishment. The king was as much disgusted as the most
independent of his subjects, but he found himself unable to prevent the
measure.
At length the Duke of Cumberland arrived from Flanders, and foreign and
English troops were assembled in the Midland counties; Marshal Wade
had also ten thousand men collected at Newcastle-on-Tyne. The Duke of
Cumberland was appointed Commander-in-Chief, and the brave soldiers
who had fought under him at Fontenoy were ready to follow him, in the
highest confidence of making short work with the Highlanders.
Those Highlanders commenced their march into England with no
predilection for the adventure. The warfare of Scotland was familiar
to them; in all ages they had been accustomed to descend from their
mountains and make raids in the Lowlands. But England was to them
an unknown region; they knew little of the dangers or the perils
before them; they knew that in the Whiggish clans of the West they
left powerful enemies behind them. No sooner did they lose sight of
Edinburgh than they began to desert. Charles led his division of the
army across the Tweed at Kelso, and sent on orders to Wooler to
prepare for his reception, thus keeping up the feint of marching
eastward; instead of which, he took his way down Liddesdale, and on the
8th of November crossed the Esk, and encamped that night at a place
called Reddings, on the Cumberland side.
The next day, the other column, which had marched through Moffat,
came up, and the united army advanced towards Carlisle. They were
perceived as they were crossing a moor on the 9th, about two miles
from Carlisle, by the garrison, which began to fire their cannon upon
them, and kept it up actively for some time. On the 10th Charles
sent a letter summoning the garrison to surrender, but the garrison
returned no answer, except by its cannon. They expected that Marshal
Wade would soon march to their relief, whence their courage; and,
indeed, the prince heard that Wade was on the way by Hexham, and,
instead of waiting for him, he went to meet him at Brampton, in the
forest of Inglewood, seven miles from the town; but, finding he had
been deceived, he sent back part of the troops to commence the siege of
Carlisle in form. As the batteries began to rise, the courage of the
commanders in the town began to fail, and they offered to capitulate;
but the prince declined any terms but surrender of both town and
castle, the troops being allowed to retire without their arms on
engaging not to serve against Charles for twelve months. These terms
were accepted on the 15th, and the prince made a triumphant entry on
the 17th.
The town, the castle, the arms, horses, and military stores being
surrendered to the prince, and the militia and invalids having marched
out, a council of war was called to determine future proceedings. Some
proposed to march against Wade and bring him to action, others to
return to Scotland, but Charles still insisted on marching forward.
Lord George Murray was the only one who at all seconded him, and he
did not recommend marching far into England without more encouragement
than there yet appeared; but as the prince was anxious to ascertain
that point, he said he was sure his army, small as it was, would follow
him. Charles expressed his conviction that his friends in Lancashire
waited only for their arrival; and the Marquis D'Eguilles declaring his
expectation of a speedy landing of a French army, under this assurance
the council consented to the advance.
On the 20th of November this memorable march commenced. For the
convenience of quarters, the two divisions of the army were still
maintained, the first led by Lord George Murray, the second by the
prince himself. They left a garrison of two hundred men at Carlisle,
though, on a muster, it was discovered that above a thousand men had
deserted since they left Edinburgh, and that they had now only four
thousand five hundred to attempt the conquest of England with. At
Penrith the whole army halted for a day, hearing that Wade was coming
against them; but finding, on the contrary, that he was gone back,
they pursued their route by Shap, Kendal, and Lancaster, to Preston,
where they arrived on the 27th. On the way, so far from meeting with
any signs of adhesion, the farmers from whom they had taken horses
congregated and pursued them on other horses, dismounted some of their
cavalry, and carried their horses away again. Preston was a place
of ill omen to the Highlanders ever since the defeat of the Duke of
Hamilton in the Civil War there, and the surrender of Mackintosh in
1715. They had a fixed idea that no Scottish army could ever advance
farther. To break this spell, Lord George led his vanguard at once over
the bridge, and quartered them beyond it. The army halted there a day,
and then proceeded to Wigan, which they entered the next day. Till
he reached Preston, however, Charles received no tokens of sympathy.
At Preston, for the first time, he received three hearty cheers, and
a few men joined his standard. On the road from Wigan to Manchester
the expressions of goodwill increased; throngs of people collected
to see him pass, but none would consent to join them. At Manchester
the approach of the army had been heralded by a Scottish sergeant, a
drummer, and a woman, the men in plaids and bonnets exciting great
astonishment, and bringing together thousands of spectators. They
announced the prince for the morrow, and began recruiting for his
service. They offered a bounty of five guineas, to be paid when the
prince came. A considerable number enlisted, receiving a shilling in
token of engagement.
On the 1st of December the army resumed its march. They immediately
found the effect of Cumberland's presence at Lichfield: they had to
ford the Mersey near Stockport, and to carry the baggage and artillery
over a rude wooden bridge, consisting of the trunks of trees thrown
across, at Chorlton. That evening they reached Macclesfield. Lord
George pushed on with his division to Congleton, whence he sent on
Colonel Kerr, who routed a small body of the Duke of Kingston's horse,
and drove them towards Newcastle-under-Lyme. Kerr seized Captain
Weir, well known as one of Cumberland's principal spies, and, by
threatening him with the gallows, drew from him the particulars of the
duke's numbers and position. It appeared that the duke was under the
impression that the prince was directing his march towards Wales to
join his partisans there, and having encouraged this notion by this
advance, and led the duke to proceed as far as Stone, Lord George
suddenly altered his route, and got to Ashbourne, and thence to Derby,
thus throwing the road to London quite open, and being two or three
days' march in advance of the duke. Charles entered Derby the same day,
the 4th of December, and took up his quarters at a house belonging to
the Earl of Exeter, at the bottom of Full Street.
[Illustration: PRINCE CHARLIE'S VANGUARD AT MANCHESTER. (_See p. 100._)]
They were now only one hundred and twenty-seven miles from the capital,
both Wade and Cumberland behind them, and Charles, notwithstanding
the conditions on which they had come on from Macclesfield, still
confidently and enthusiastically dwelt on the onward march to London,
and his certain success. In the morning a council was held, when Lord
George Murray appealed to the prince whether they had received the
least accession of strength, or the smallest sign of encouragement?
Such being the case, what hope was there for them in proceeding? They
had barely five thousand men to contend against three armies, amounting
at least altogether to thirty thousand. If they got to London before
Cumberland, and if they managed to elude the army at Finchley, they
had scarcely numbers to take quiet possession of London. But were
they forced to fight the king and his army under the walls of the
metropolis, they could not do it without loss; and then, supposing Wade
and Cumberland to unite behind them, as they certainly would do, how
could they hope to contend against them? Assistance from France, as
they had pointed out, was hopeless whilst the English had such a force
in the Channel. Charles listened to these arguments with undisguised
impatience, and the probability is that, had his officers been willing
to follow him, and live or die in the enterprise, he would have seized
London, and accomplished one of the most brilliant exploits in history.
It is true that George II. was also a brave and staunch commander,
prepared to die on the spot rather than yield, as he had shown at
Dettingen. But the greater part of his forces at Finchley were raw
levies, and might not have stood better than the troops had done in
Scotland. There was a terror of the Highlanders, even in the army; and
as for London itself, the panic, when it was heard that they had got
between the duke's army and the capital, was, according to Fielding,
who was then in London, incredible. There was a frantic rush upon the
Bank of England, and it is said that it must have closed had it not
gained time by paying in sixpences. The shops were shut, business was
at a stand, the Ministers were in the utmost terror, and the Duke of
Newcastle was said to have shut himself up for a day, pondering whether
he should declare for the Pretender or not. The king himself was by
no means confident of the result. He is said to have sent most of his
precious effects on board a yacht at the Tower quay, ready to put off
at a minute's warning. The day on which the news of the rebels being at
Derby reached London was long renowned as Black Friday. In such a state
of terror, and the army at Finchley inferior in numbers, and infinitely
inferior in bravery, who can doubt that Charles would for a time have
made himself master of the metropolis?
Charles, wrought up to the highest pitch of agony at the prospect of
being compelled to abandon the splendid design of entering London
in triumph, continued to expostulate and entreat the whole day. The
Duke of Perth and some of the Irish officers, moved by his distress,
gave way, and called on the other chiefs to yield; but they remained
immovable, and the prince, seeing the case hopeless, at length gave up
the contest, and, in deep dejection, assented to the retreat. But, as
if he deemed the relinquishment of the march on the metropolis the ruin
of the whole enterprise, he declared that henceforth he would summon no
more councils--being accountable only to God and his father, he would
not again either seek or accept their advice.
The next morning, the 6th of December, the retreat commenced; but
the soldiers and the inferior officers little dreamed that it was a
retreat. They imagined that they were going to fight the Duke of
Cumberland, and marched out in high spirits. The morning was foggy,
and for some time the delusion was kept up; but when the fog cleared
away, and they perceived that they were retracing their former route,
their disappointment and rage became excessive. The retreat was rapidly
continued through Preston, and on to Lancaster, which they reached
on the 13th. On the 18th Oglethorpe and Cumberland, accompanied by
a mob of country squires and mounted farmers, attacked Lord George
Murray's rear near Penrith; but the countrymen were speedily put to
flight by a charge of the Glengarry clan, and Oglethorpe fell back to
the main body. They came up again, however, in the evening near the
village of Clifton, and Lord George perceived, by the fitful light of
the moon, the enemy forming behind the stone walls, and lining every
hedge, orchard, and outhouse. Just as the royal troops commenced their
charge they were stopped by a cross-fire of the concealed Highlanders,
and, whilst affected by this surprise, Lord George cried, "Claymore!
claymore!" and rushing down upon them with the Macphersons of Cluny,
attacked them sword in hand. Being supported by the Stuarts of Appin,
they compelled the English to retreat.
Nevertheless, the whole army was dead beat and in the most deplorable
condition when they entered Carlisle on the morning of the 19th. As the
enemy did not appear, they rested that day and the following night,
when they set forward again, leaving a fresh garrison. Cumberland was
soon up before the walls, and they fired vigorously at him; but he sent
off to Whitehaven and brought up six eighteen-pounders, with which, to
their dismay, he began to play on their crumbling walls on the 29th.
Next morning they hung out a white flag, and offered to capitulate;
but Cumberland would hear of no terms except their surrendering on
condition that they should not be put to the sword. At three o'clock in
the afternoon both town and castle were surrendered, the garrison being
shut up in the cathedral, and a guard set upon them. On the 3rd of
January the Duke of Cumberland left the command to General Hawley, and
hastened back to London, being summoned to defend the southern coast
from a menaced landing of the French.
Meanwhile, the Highland army was continuing its retreat. On the 20th
of December they left Carlisle, and crossed into Scotland by fording
the Esk. On the 26th Lord George entered Glasgow, and Charles, with
the other division, on the 27th. At Glasgow the prince and the army
lay for seven days to rest, and to levy contributions of all kinds of
articles of apparel for the soldiers. On the 3rd of January, 1746, the
same day that Cumberland left Carlisle for London, Charles marched his
army out of Glasgow, new clad and new shod, for Stirling. The next day
he took up his quarters at the house of Bannockburn, and distributed
his men through the neighbouring villages, Lord George Murray occupying
Falkirk. Lords Strathallan and Drummond soon arrived from Perth with
their united force, attended by both battering-guns and engines from
France.
With this force, tempted by the battering train, Charles committed the
error of wasting his strength on a siege of Stirling Castle, instead of
preparing to annihilate the English troops, which were in rapid advance
upon him.
The Duke of Cumberland, being called southward, had got General Hawley
appointed to the command of the army sent after the Young Pretender.
Wade was become too old and dilatory, but Hawley was much fitter for
a hangman than a general. Horace Walpole says he was called "the
Lord Chief Justice," because, like Jeffreys, he had a passion for
executions; that when the surgeons solicited the body of a deserter,
which was dangling before Hawley's windows, for dissection, he would
only consent on condition that he had the skeleton to ornament the
guard room. Hearing of his approach, Charles drew in his forces from
Falkirk under Lord George, left a few hundred men to blockade Stirling,
and concentrated his army on the renowned field of Bannockburn. On
the 16th of January Charles, expecting Hawley, drew up his forces,
but no enemy appeared. The next day, still perceiving no Hawley, he
advanced to Pleanmuir, two miles east of Bannockburn, and on the way
to Torwood. No enemy yet appearing, the prince determined to advance
and find him out. Hawley was so confident of dispersing the Highland
rabble at any moment that he chose, that he had neglected every
military precaution, had fixed no outposts, and was away at Callander
House, at some distance from the field, comfortably taking luncheon
with Lady Kilmarnock, whose husband was in the rebel army, and who
was exerting all her powers of pleasing to detain the foolish general
as long as possible. At length, when the rebels had come up so near
that there was only Falkirk Moor between the armies, Hawley, roused
by fresh messengers, came galloping up without his hat, and in the
utmost confusion. In the middle of this rugged and uneven moor, covered
with heath, rose a considerable ridge, and it appeared to be a race
between the two enemies which should gain the advantage of the summit.
On the one side galloped the English cavalry, on the other sped the
Highlanders, straining for this important height; but the fleet-footed
Gael won the ground from the English horse, and Hawley's horse halted
a little below them. Neither of the armies had any artillery, for
the Highlanders had left theirs behind in their rapid advance, and
Hawley's had stuck fast in the bog. So far they were equal; but the
prince, by taking a side route, had thrown the wind in the teeth of
the English, and a storm of rain began with confounding violence to
beat in their faces. The English cavalry remained, as it had galloped
up, in front, commanded, since the death of Gardiner, by Colonel
Ligonier, and the infantry formed, like the Highlanders, in two lines,
the right commanded by General Huske, and the left by Hawley. Behind,
as a reserve, stood the Glasgow regiment and the Argyll militia. The
order being given, the cavalry under Ligonier charged the Macdonalds,
who coolly waited till the English horse was within ten yards of
them, when they poured such a murderous volley into them as dropped
a frightful number from their saddles, and threw the whole line into
confusion. The Frasers immediately poured an equally galling cross-fire
into the startled line, and the two dragoon regiments which had fled
at Coltbridge and Prestonpans waited no longer, but wheeling round,
galloped from the field at their best speed. The Macdonalds, seeing
the effect of their fire, in spite of Lord George Murray's endeavours
to keep them in order, rushed forward, loading their pieces as they
ran, and fell upon Hawley's two columns of infantry. Having discharged
their pieces, they ran in upon the English with their targets and
broadswords. The left soon gave way, and Hawley, who had got involved
in the crowd of flying horse, had been swept with them down the
hill, and thus had no means of keeping them to their colours. On the
right of the royal army, however, the infantry stood firm, and as
the Highlanders could not cross the ravine to come to close quarters
with sword and target, they inflicted severe slaughter upon them; and
Cobham's cavalry rallying, soon came to their aid and protected their
flank, and increased the effect on the Highlanders, many of whom began
to run, imagining that the day was lost. Charles, from his elevated
position observing this extraordinary state of things, advanced at the
head of his second line, and checked the advance of the English right,
and, after some sharp fighting, compelled them to a retreat. But in
this case it was only a retreat, not a flight. These regiments retired,
with drums beating and colours flying, in perfect order. A pursuit of
cavalry might still have been made, but the retreat of the English was
so prompt, that the Highlanders suspected a stratagem; and it was only
when their scouts brought them word that they had evacuated Falkirk
that they understood their full success (January 18, 1746).
The battle of Falkirk, which in itself appeared so brilliant an affair
for Prince Charles, was really one of his most serious disasters.
The Highlanders, according to their regular custom when loaded with
plunder, went off in great numbers to their homes with their booty.
His chief officers became furious against each other in discussing
their respective merits in the battle. Lord George Murray, who had
himself behaved most bravely in the field, complained that Lord John
Drummond had not exerted himself, or pursuit might have been made and
the royal army been utterly annihilated. This spirit of discontent
was greatly aggravated by the siege of the castle of Stirling. Old
General Blakeney, who commanded the garrison, declared he would hold
out to the last man, in spite of the terrible threats of Lord George
Murray if he did not surrender. The Highlanders grew disgusted with
work so contrary to their habits; and, indeed, the French engineer,
the so-called Marquis de Mirabelle, was so utterly ignorant of his
profession, that the batteries which he constructed were commanded by
the castle, and the men were so much exposed that they were in danger
of being destroyed before they took the fortress. Accordingly, on the
24th of January they struck to a man, and refused to go any more into
the trenches.
This was followed by a memorial, signed by most of the chief officers,
including Lord George Murray, Lochiel, Keppoch, Clanranald, and Simon
Fraser, Master of Lovat. This was sent by Lord George to Charles, and
represented that so many men were gone home, and more still going,
in spite of all the endeavours of their chiefs, that if the siege
were continued they saw nothing but absolute destruction to the whole
army. The prince sent Sir Thomas Sheridan to remonstrate with the
chiefs, but they would not give way, and Charles, it is said, sullenly
acquiesced in the retreat.
It was time, if they were to avoid a battle. Cumberland was already on
the march from Edinburgh. He quitted Holyrood on the 31st of January,
and the insurgents only commenced their retreat the next morning, the
1st of February, after spiking their guns. With this force the prince
continued his march towards Inverness, a fleet accompanying him along
the coast with supplies and ammunition. On nearing Inverness, he found
it rudely fortified by a ditch and palisade, and held by Lord Loudon
with two thousand men. Charles took up his residence at Moray Castle,
the seat of the chief of the Macintoshes. The chief was in the king's
army with Lord Loudon, but Lady Macintosh espoused the cause of the
prince zealously, raised the clan, and led them out as their commander,
riding at their head with a man's bonnet on her head, and pistols at
her saddle-bow. Charles, the next morning, the 17th of February, called
together his men, and on the 18th marched on Inverness. Lord Loudon
did not wait for his arrival, but got across the Moray Firth with his
soldiers, and accompanied by the Lord-President Forbes, into Cromarty.
He was hotly pursued by the Earl of Cromarty and several Highland
regiments, and was compelled to retreat into Sutherland. Charles
entered Inverness, and began to attack the British forts. Fort George
surrendered in a few days, and in it they obtained sixteen pieces of
cannon and a considerable stock of ammunition and provisions.
But, notwithstanding these partial advantages, and though the duke and
his army were enduring all the severities of a Highland winter, exposed
to the cutting east winds on that inclement coast, and compelled to
keep quarters for some time, Cumberland was steadily seizing every
opportunity to enclose the Highlanders in his toils. His ships cut
off all supplies coming by sea. They captured two vessels sent from
France to their aid, on board of one of which they took the brother of
the Duke of Berwick. The _Hazard_, a sloop which the Highlanders had
seized and sent several times to France, was now pursued by an English
cruiser, and driven ashore on the coast of Sutherland: on board her
were a hundred and fifty men and officers, and ten thousand pounds in
gold, which the clan Mackay, headed by Lord Reay, got possession of.
This last blow, in addition to other vessels sent out to succour him
being compelled to return to France, reduced Charles to the utmost
extremities. He had only five hundred louis-d'ors left in his chest,
and he was obliged to pay his troops in meal, to their great suffering
and discontent. Cumberland was, in fact, already conquering them
by reducing them to mere feeble skeletons of men. The dry winds of
March rendered the rivers fordable, and, as soon as it grew milder,
he availed himself of this to coop the unhappy Highlanders up still
more narrowly in their barren wilds, and stop all the passes into
the Lowlands, by which they might obtain provisions. He himself lay
at Aberdeen with strong outposts in all directions; Mordaunt at Old
Meldrum, and Bland at Strathbogie. As soon as he received an abundance
of provisions by a fleet of transports, along with Bligh's regiment,
hearing that the Spey was fordable, on the 7th of April he issued
orders to march, and the next day set forward himself from Aberdeen
with Lord Kerr's dragoons and six regiments of foot, having the fleet
still following along the shore with a gentle and fair wind. On
reaching the Spey Lord John Drummond disputed their passage, having
raised a battery to sweep the ford, and ranged his best marksmen along
the shore. But the heavier artillery of the duke soon drove Lord John
from the ground; he set fire to his barracks and huts, and left the
ford open to the enemy, who soon got across. On Sunday, the 13th of
April, the English advanced to Alves, and on the 14th reached Nairn.
As the van, consisting of the Argyllshire men, some companies of
Grenadiers, and Kingston's Light Horse, entered Nairn, the rear of Lord
John Drummond had not quitted it, and there was skirmishing at the
bridge. The Highlanders still retreated to a place called the Lochs of
the Clans, about five miles beyond Nairn, where the prince came up with
reinforcements, and, turning the flight, pursued the English back again
to the main body of their army, which was encamped on the plain to the
west of Nairn.
[Illustration: CULLODEN HOUSE. (_From a Photograph by G. W. Wilson and
Co., Aberdeen._)]
That night Charles and his chief officers lay at Culloden House, the
seat of the able and patriotic Lord-President, Duncan Forbes; but the
troops were obliged to lie on the moor amid the heather, which served
them both for beds and fuel, the cold being very severe. They were up
early in the morning, and formed in order of battle on Drummossie
Muir, the part of the heath of Culloden near to Culloden House. No
enemy, however, appeared, and there the poor hungry men lay for most
of the day with no other food than a biscuit per man. A council of war
being called, Lochiel stated this fact as a plea for delay; Lord John
Drummond, the Duke of Perth, and others, were of the same opinion; but
Lord George Murray declared for making a night march, and surprising
the duke's army whilst it would lie, as they supposed, asleep in a
drunken debauch. Charles, who had the same idea, but had not yet
broached it, embraced Lord George with ardour, declaring it of all
things his own wish. The idea was adopted, yet the slightest military
wisdom would have shown them the futility of the scheme. The men were
in a general state, not only of famine, but of discontent, from the
non-payment of their arrears. The night was dark, and the men soon
began to stumble through bog and mire, making their march heavy, and
causing them to curse and swear. It was soon found that they were so
feeble and incapable of walking, even, to say nothing of fighting after
a fourteen or fifteen miles' march, on empty stomachs, that it was
impossible to make the rear keep up with the van. They had calculated
on being at Nairn at two o'clock, but it was that hour before they had
all passed Kilravock House, only four miles from the English camp. It
was clear that it would be daylight long before they reached Nairn, and
they could only get there to be slaughtered in helplessness, for they
would be too tired either to fight or run away. It was therefore agreed
to return.
The retreat was made, and the men found themselves again in the morning
on the bleak, black heath of Drummossie, hungry and worn out, yet
in expectation of a battle. There was yet time to do the only wise
thing--retreat into the mountains, and depend upon a guerilla warfare,
in which they would have the decided advantage. Lord George Murray now
earnestly proposed this, but in vain. Sir Thomas Sheridan and other
officers from France grew outrageous at that proposal, contending that
they could easily beat the English, as they had done at Prestonpans and
Falkirk--forgetting that the Highlanders then were full of vigour and
spirit. Unfortunately, Charles listened to this foolish reasoning, and
the fatal die was cast.
The English army was now in full march against them. About eight
o'clock in the morning of April 16 a man who had been left asleep in
the wood of Kilravock hastened to Culloden House, where Charles and
his chief officers were resting, to announce that Cumberland's troops
were coming. There was then a hurried running and riding to get the
army drawn up to receive them. Cumberland came on with his army,
divided into three columns of five battalions each. The artillery and
baggage followed the second column along the sea-coast on the right;
the cavalry covered the left wing, which stretched towards the hills.
The men were all in the highest spirits, and even the regiments of
horse, which had hitherto behaved so ill, seemed as though they meant
to retrieve their characters to-day. The Highlanders were drawn up
about half a mile from the part of the moor where they stood the day
before, forming a sad contrast to Cumberland's troops, looking thin,
and dreadfully fatigued. In placing them, also, a fatal mistake was
made. They were drawn up in two lines, with a body of reserve; but the
Clan Macdonald, which had always been accustomed to take their stand
on the right since Robert Bruce placed them there in the battle of
Bannockburn, were disgusted to find themselves now occupying the left.
Instead of the Macdonalds now stood the Athol Brigade. As the battle
began, a snow-storm began to blow in the faces of the Highlanders,
which greatly confounded them.
Their cannon was both inferior and worse served than that of the
English; and when, at one o'clock, the duke began to play on their
ranks with his artillery, he made dreadful havoc amongst them. Several
times the Highlanders endeavoured to make one of their impetuous
rushes, running forward with loud cries, brandishing their swords
and firing their pistols; but the steady fire of the English cannon
mowed them down and beat them off. Seeing, however, a more determined
appearance of a rush, Colonel Belford began to charge with grape
shot. This repelled them for a time; but at length, after an hour's
cannonade, the Macintoshes succeeded in reaching the first line of
the English. Firing their muskets, and then flinging them down, they
burst, sword in hand, on Burrel's regiment, and cut their way through
it. The second line, however, consisting of Sempill's regiment,
received them with a murderous fire. Cumberland had ordered the first
rank to kneel down, the second to lean forward, and the third to fire
over their heads. By this means, such a terrible triple volley was
given them as destroyed them almost _en masse_. Those left alive,
however, with all their ancient fury, continued to hew at Sempill's
regiment; but Cumberland had ordered his men not to charge with their
bayonets straight before them, but each to thrust at the man fronting
his right-hand man. By this means his adversary's target covered him
where he was open to the left, and his adversary's right was open to
him. This new manœuvre greatly surprised the Highlanders, and made
fearful havoc of them. From four to five hundred of them fell between
the two lines of the English army. Whilst the Macintoshes were thus
immolating themselves on the English bayonets, the Macdonalds on their
left stood in sullen inaction, thus abandoning their duty and their
unfortunate countrymen from resentment at their post of honour on the
right having been denied them. At length, ashamed of their own conduct,
they discharged their muskets, and drew their broadswords for a rush;
but the Macintoshes were now flying, and the grape-shot and musket-shot
came so thickly in their faces, that they, too, turned and gave way.
Whilst Charles stood, watching the rout of his army to the right, he
called frantically to those who fled wildly by to stand and renew the
fight. At this moment Lord Elcho spurred up to him, and urged him to
put himself at the head of the yet unbroken left, and make a desperate
charge to retrieve the fortune of the day; but the officers around
him declared that such a charge was hopeless, and could only lead the
men to certain slaughter, and prevent the chance of collecting the
scattered troops for a future effort. Though he did not attempt to
resist the victorious enemy, which was now hopeless, he seems to have
lingered, as if confounded, on the spot, till O'Sullivan and Sheridan,
each seizing a rein of his bridle, forced him from the field.
[Illustration: AFTER CULLODEN: REBEL HUNTING.
AFTER THE PAINTING BY SEYMOUR LUCAS, R.A., IN THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF
BRITISH ART]
Charles, accompanied by O'Sullivan, Sheridan, and other gentlemen, rode
away to a seat of Lord Lovat's. The wild gallop of horsemen startled
that wily old fox in his lair; and when he heard the news the Master
began to tremble for his own safety. There are different accounts of
his reception of the fugitive prince. One says that he was so occupied
with thinking of making his own escape, that he hardly showed common
courtesy to the prince and his companions, and that they parted in
mutual displeasure. Another states that Lovat urged the same advice
as Lord George Murray had done, still to get up into the mountains,
and make a bold face, by which time might be gained for fresh
reinforcements, or at least for making some terms for the unhappy
people. But it is clear that Charles had now lost all spirit, if he
had ever retained much after he had been forced to retreat from Derby.
He and his party rode away again at ten o'clock at night, and reached
Invergarry, the castle of Glengarry, about two hours before daybreak.
Lord George still entertained the idea of keeping together a large
body of Highlanders. He had already with him one thousand two hundred.
Charles had stolen away from Invergarry to Arkaig, in Lochaber, and
thence to Glenboisdale, where the messengers of Lord George found him,
accompanied only by O'Sullivan, O'Neil, and Burke, his servant, who
knew the country and acted as guide. All the rest of his train had
shifted for themselves. Lord George entreated the prince not to quit
the country, but to continue to gather a force in the mountains, and
thus resist and harass their enemies till they received reinforcements;
but Charles sent him word that the only chance was for himself to
hasten over to France, and use all his interest to bring over an
efficient force. He therefore sent Lord George a written plan of his
intentions, which was not, however, to be opened till he had sailed;
and he desired Lord George to request the different chiefs and their
men to seek their own safety as best they might. That act terminated
the Rebellion.
Cumberland was now hunting down the fugitives on all sides. He posted
himself at Fort Augustus, which the insurgents had blown up before
leaving it, and from that centre he sent out his myrmidons in every
direction to hunt out the Highlanders, and shoot them down on the spot
or bring them in for execution. Everywhere the unhappy clans were
pursued by their hereditary enemies, the Whig clans, especially by the
men of Argyllshire, and massacred with the most atrocious cruelty. They
stripped their houses and then burned them down, drove away the cattle,
and tracking the miserable families into dens and caves, smothered
them with burning heather, or thus forced them to rush out upon their
bayonets. In all these diabolical proceedings, the Duke of Cumberland
and the brutal General Hawley were foremost. "After all," Cumberland
(whose wicked work earned him the name of "The Butcher") wrote to the
Duke of Newcastle from Fort Augustus, "I am sorry to leave this country
in the condition it is in, for all the good that we have done has been
_a little blood-letting, which has only weakened the madness, but not
at all cured it_; and I tremble for fear that this vile spot may still
be the ruin of this island and our family."
[Illustration: THE STANDARD OF PRINCE CHARLIE'S BODYGUARD, TAKEN AT
CULLODEN. (_In the possession of Sir Archibald Lamb at Beauport,
Sussex._)]
The Young Pretender, during this time, had been making a hard run for
his life, beset and hunted on all sides for the thirty thousand pounds
set upon his head. During the whole five months of his adventurous
wanderings and hidings, nothing could induce a single Highlander to
betray him, notwithstanding the temptation of the thirty thousand
pounds. The most familiar story is his escape from South Uist, where he
had been tracked and surrounded. At this moment Miss Flora Macdonald, a
near relative of Macdonald of Clanranald, with whom she was on a visit,
stepped forward to rescue him. She procured a pass from Hugh Macdonald,
her stepfather, who commanded part of the troops now searching the
island, for herself, her maid, Betty Burke, and her servant, Neil Mac
Eachan. She, moreover, induced Captain Macdonald to recommend the
maid, Betty Burke--which Betty Burke was to be Charles in disguise--to
his wife in Skye as very clever at spinning. At the moment that all
was ready, General Campbell, as if suspecting something, came with a
company of soldiers, and examined Clanranald's house. The prince, in
his female attire, however, was concealed in a farm-house, and the next
morning he and his deliverer embarked in a boat with six rowers and the
servant Neil. In passing the point of Vaternish, in Skye, they ran a
near chance of being all killed, for the militia rushed out and fired
upon them. Luckily the tide was out, so that they were at a tolerable
distance, were neither hurt, nor could be very quickly pursued. The
boatmen pulled stoutly, and landed them safely at Mougstot, the seat
of Sir Alexander Macdonald. Sir Alexander was on the mainland in
Cumberland's army; but the young heroine had the address to induce his
wife, Lady Margaret Macdonald, to receive him; and as the house was
full of soldiers, she sent him to her factor and kinsman, Macdonald of
Kingsburgh, in the interior of the island, who brought him to a place
of safety. At last, on the 20th of September, he got on board the
French vessel. Lochiel and Cluny, and about a hundred other refugees,
sailed with him, and they landed at the little port of Roscoff, near
Morlaix, in Finistère, on the 29th of September, whence Charles
hastened to Paris, was received in a very friendly manner by Louis XV.,
and by the Parisians, when he appeared at the opera, with rapturous
acclamations.
Charles was, both in Scotland--on which his wild adventure had
inflicted such miseries--and in France, a hero of romance; but his
captured adherents had far other scenes to face than the lights and
luxurious music of the opera. The prisons were crammed to such a degree
with the unfortunate Gaels, that Government was compelled to stow
numbers away on board of men-of-war and transports, till fever broke
out and swept them off by hundreds, sparing the labours of judges,
juries, and hangmen. In Carlisle prison alone four hundred Scots were
jammed in a space not properly sufficient for forty! The poor prisoners
had been brought out of Scotland in open defiance of the Act of Union
and of the recognised rights of the Scottish courts; and now they were
called on to cast lots for one in twenty to take their trials, with a
certainty of being hanged, and the rest shipped off to the Plantations
in America without any trial at all.
[Illustration: THE END OF THE '45. (_After the Painting by John Pettie,
R.A., by permission of the late Captain Hill._)]
Amongst the most distinguished persons captured were Lords Kilmarnock,
Cromarty, Balmerino, Mordington, and Lovat. Cromarty, Balmerino, and
Kilmarnock were brought to trial before the peers in Westminster Hall
on the 28th of July. "Cromarty," says Horace Walpole, "was a timid man,
and shed tears; and Kilmarnock, though behaving with more dignity,
pleaded guilty, both expressing remorse for their past conduct, and
their fervent good wishes for the person and government of the king."
But old Balmerino, the hero of the party, pleaded not guilty, and
took exceptions to the indictment. "He is," writes Walpole, "the most
natural, brave old fellow I ever saw; the highest intrepidity, even
to indifference." All these noblemen were pronounced guilty. Cromarty
pleaded piteously the condition of his wife and family: that he left
his wife _enceinte_, and eight innocent children to suffer for his
fault. His wife's entreaties and the interest of the Prince of Wales
saved him; Kilmarnock and Balmerino were beheaded.
Lord Lovat was the last who was brought to the block for this
rebellion, and we will conclude our account of it with his trial and
execution, though they did not take place till March, 1747. Lovat had
not appeared in arms, nor committed any overt act, and therefore it was
difficult to convict him. The cunning old sycophant hoped to elude
the law, as he had done so often before, but Murray of Broughton, the
brother of Murray, afterwards Lord Mansfield, to save his own life,
turned king's evidence, and won eternal infamy by sacrificing his
own friends. He not only produced letters and other documents which
amply proved the guilt of Lovat, but threw broad daylight on the whole
plan and progress of the insurrection from 1740 onwards. The conduct
of Lovat on his trial was as extraordinary as his life had been. He
alternately endeavoured to excite compassion, especially that of
Cumberland--who attended this, though he avoided the trials of the
other insurgents--by representing how he had carried his Royal Highness
in his arms about Kensington and Hampton Court Parks as a child, and
then by the most amusing jests, laughter, execrations, and tricks, to
puzzle or confuse the witnesses.
As he left the hall he turned and said, "Farewell, my lords; we shall
never meet again in the same place." And with this tragi-comedy
closed the strange, romantic, and melancholy rebellion of 1745 and
1746, for in a few weeks an act of indemnity was passed, disfigured,
however, with eighty omissions. It was followed by other measures for
subduing the spirit of the vanquished Highlanders--the disarming act,
the abolition of heritable jurisdiction, and the prohibition of the
Highland costume.
Whilst the rebellion was raging in Scotland there had been an attempt
to change the ministry, and to place at the helm Lord Granville. That
nobleman had so engrossed the favour of the king, that Pelham and
his brother, Newcastle, found their measures greatly obstructed by
Granville's influence, and suspected that they would soon be called
on to give place to him. They determined, therefore, to bring matters
to a crisis, confident that Granville would never be able to secure a
majority in either House against them. To furnish a reason for their
tendering their resignation, they demanded the place which they had
promised to Pitt.
Under the influence of Granville and of Lord Bath, the king refused
to admit Pitt, and they determined to resign, but got Lord Harrington
to take the first step. He tendered the resignation of the Seals on
the 10th of February, 1746, and the king accepted them, but never
forgave Harrington. The same day Newcastle and Pelham tendered theirs,
and their example was followed by others of their colleagues. The
king immediately sent the Seals to Granville, desiring him and Bath
to construct a new administration. They found the thing, however,
by no means so easy. It was in vain that they made overtures to men
of distinction to join them. Sir John Barnard declined the post
of Chancellor of the Exchequer; Chief Justice Willes that of Lord
Chancellor. After forty-eight hours of abortive endeavours, Lord Bath
announced to the king that they were unable to form a Cabinet. It
was with extreme chagrin that George was compelled to reinstate the
Pelhams. He expressed the most profound mortification that he should
have a man like Newcastle thus forced upon him--a man, he said, not
fit to be a petty chamberlain to a petty prince of Germany. What
made it the more galling, the Pelhams would not take back the Seals
without authority to name their own terms, and one of them was, that
such of the adherents of Bath and Granville as had been retained
in the Ministry should be dismissed. The Marquis of Tweeddale was,
accordingly, one of these, and his office of Secretary of State for
Scotland was abolished. Pitt was introduced to the Cabinet, not as
Secretary at War, as he had demanded, but as Vice-Treasurer of Ireland,
and subsequently, on the death of Winnington, as Paymaster of the
Forces. By this event the Opposition was still further weakened, and
the Pelhams for some time seemed to carry everything as they wished,
almost without a single ruffle of opposition.