Advancing in high spirits through the mountains of Badenoch, Prince
Charles with his army came down into the vale of Athole, and visited,
with Tullibardine, the castle of Blair Athole, the noble property of
which the marquis had so long been deprived, owing to his constancy to
the cause of the Stuarts, but which would again be his own were this
great enterprise successful.
From Blair Athole the little army moved on to Perth. Here they were
joined by powerful friends, of whom the principal were the young Duke of
Perth, Lord Nairn, and Lord George Murray, the younger brother of the
Marquis of Tullibardine. Lord George Murray was but ten years of age when
the events of 1715 had taken place, but four years later he came over
with the marquis with a handful of Spaniards and was wounded at the
battle of Glenshiels. The influence of the family obtained his pardon on
the plea of his extreme youth, but he remained at heart a Jacobite, and,
going to the Continent, entered the service of Sardinia, then a portion
of the possessions of the Duke of Savoy. For many years he served abroad,
and acquired a considerable reputation as an excellent officer and a most
gallant soldier.
He had, indeed, a natural genius for military operations, and had he not
been thwarted at every turn by the jealousy of Murray of Broughton, it is
by no means improbable that he would have brought the enterprise to a
successful termination and seated the Stuarts upon the throne of England.
The accession of such an officer was of the highest value to the prince.
Hitherto the army had consisted merely of wild clansmen, full of valour
and devotion but wholly undisciplined; while among those who accompanied
him, or who had joined him in Scotland, there was not a single officer of
any experience in war or any military capacity whatever. Lord George
Murray and the Duke of Perth were at once named generals in the prince's
army; but the command in reality remained entirely in the hands of
Murray, for Lord Perth, though an estimable young nobleman possessed of
considerable ability, had no military experience and was of a quiet and
retiring disposition.
Lord George Murray at once set about raising the tenantry of his brother
the Hanoverian Duke of Athole, who was absent in England, and as these
had always remained attached to the Stuart cause, and still regarded the
Marquis of Tullibardine as their rightful head, they willingly took up
arms upon Lord George Murray's bidding. Lord George decided at once that
it would be useless to attempt to drill the Highlanders into regular
soldiers, but that they must be allowed to use their national style of
fighting and trust to their desperate charge with broadsword and target
to break the enemy's ranks.
Unfortunately dissensions commenced among the leaders from the very
first. Secretary Murray, who desired to be all powerful with the prince,
saw that he should not succeed in gaining any influence over so firm and
energetic a character as Lord George Murray, while it would be easy for
him to sway the young Duke of Perth, and he was not long in poisoning the
ear of the latter against his companion in arms by representing to him
that Lord George treated him as a mere cipher, although of equal rank in
the army. The secretary's purpose was even more easily carried out with
Prince Charles. The latter was no judge of character, and fell readily
under the influence of the wily and unscrupulous Murray, who flattered
his weaknesses and assumed an air of deference to his opinions. Lord
George Murray, on the other hand, was but too prone to give offence. He
was haughty and overbearing in manner, expressed his opinions with a
directness and bluntness which were very displeasing to the prince, and,
conscious of his own military genius and experience, put aside with open
contempt the suggestions of those who were in truth ignorant of military
matters. Loyal, straightforward, and upright, he scorned to descend to
the arts of the courtier, and while devoting his whole time to his
military work, suffered his enemies to obtain the entire command of the
ear of the prince.
Ronald was introduced to him as soon as he joined at Perth, and finding
that young Leslie had had some military experience, Lord George at once
appointed him one of his aides de camp, and soon took a warm liking to
the active and energetic young officer, whose whole soul was in his work,
and who cared nothing for the courtly gatherings around the person of the
prince.
Malcolm rode as Ronald's orderly, and during the few days of their stay
in Perth, Ronald was at work from morning till night riding through the
country with messages from Lord George, and in the intervals of such duty
in trying to inculcate some idea of discipline into the wild Highland
levies. At this time Charles was using all his efforts to persuade Lord
Lovat, one of the most powerful of the northern noblemen, to join him,
offering him his patent as Duke of Fraser and the lord lieutenancy of the
northern counties.
Lovat, however, an utterly unscrupulous man, refused openly to join,
although he sent repeatedly assurances of his devotion. Throughout the
struggle he continued to act a double part, trying to keep friends with
both parties, but declaring for the prince at the moment when his
fortunes were at their highest. The result was that while he afforded the
prince but little real assistance, his conduct cost him his head.
Sir John Cope, finding that his march to Inverness had failed to draw the
prince after him, and had left the Lowlands and the capital open to the
insurgents, directed his march to Aberdeen, and sent to Edinburgh for
transports to bring down his army to cover that city. But Prince Charles
determined to forestall him, and on the 11th of September commenced his
march south. The age and infirmities of the Marquis of Tullibardine
prevented his accompanying Prince Charles during active operations.
It was impossible for the army to march direct against Edinburgh, as the
magistrates of that town had taken the precaution to withdraw every ship
and boat from the northern side of the Forth, and the prince was
consequently obliged to make a detour and to cross the river at the fords
eight miles above Stirling, and then marching rapidly towards Edinburgh,
arrived on the evening of the 16th within three miles of that town.
So long as the coming of the prince was doubtful the citizens of
Edinburgh had declared their willingness to defend the town to the last.
Volunteer regiments had been formed and guns placed on the walls; but
when the volunteers were ordered to march out with Hamilton's regiment of
dragoons, to oppose the advance of the insurgents, the men quitted their
ranks and stole away to their houses, leaving the dragoons to march out
alone. The latter, however, showed no greater courage than that of their
citizen allies, when on the following day they came in contact with a
party of mounted gentlemen from the prince's army, who fired their
pistols at their pickets. These rode off in haste, their panic was
communicated to the main body, whose officers in vain endeavoured to
check them, and the whole regiment galloped away in wild confusion, and
passing close under the walls of Edinburgh continued their flight,
without halting, to Preston. There they halted for the night; but one of
the troopers happening in the dark to fall into a disused well, his
shouts for assistance caused an alarm that they were attacked, and
mounting their horses the regiment continued their flight to Dunbar,
where they joined General Cope's army, which had just landed there.
This disgraceful panic added to the terror of the citizens of Edinburgh,
and when, late in the afternoon, a summons to surrender came in from
Prince Charles, the council could arrive at no decision, but sent a
deputation to the prince asking for delay, hoping thereby that Cope's
army would arrive in time to save them. But the prince was also well
aware of the importance of time, and that night he sent forward Lochiel
with five hundred Camerons to lie in ambush near the Netherbow Gate. They
took with them a barrel of powder to blow it in if necessary; but in the
morning the gate was opened to admit a carriage, and the Highlanders at
once rushed in and overpowered the guard, and sending parties through the
streets they secured these also without disturbance or bloodshed, and
when the citizens awoke in the morning they found, to their surprise,
that Prince Charles was master of the city.
The Jacobite portion of the population turned out with delight to greet
the prince, while the rest thought it politic to imitate their
enthusiasm. The Highlanders behaved with perfect order and discipline,
and although the town had, as it were, been taken by storm, no single
article of property was touched. An hour later Prince Charles, at the
head of his troops, entered the royal palace of Holyrod, being met by a
crowd of enthusiastic supporters from the city, who received him with
royal shouts and tears of joy.
In the evening a grand ball was held in the palace, in spite of the fact
that it was within range of the guns of Edinburgh Castle, which still
held out. But one day was spent in Edinburgh. This was occupied in
serving out about a thousand muskets found in the magazines to the
Highlanders, and in obtaining tents, shoes, and cooking vessels, which
the town was ordered to supply. They were joined during the day by many
gentlemen, and on the night of the 19th the army, two thousand five
hundred strong, of whom only fifty were mounted, moved out to the village
of Duddingston. There the prince that evening called a council of war,
and proposed to march next morning to meet the enemy halfway, and
declared that he would himself lead his troops and charge in the first
ranks.
The chiefs, however, exclaimed against this, urging that if any accident
happened to him ruin must fall upon the whole, whether they gained or
lost the battle; and upon the prince persisting they declared that they
would return home and make the best terms they could for themselves. He
was therefore obliged to give way, declaring, however, that he would lead
the second line. The next morning the army commenced its march. They had
with them only one cannon, so old that it was quite useless, and it was
only taken forward as an encouragement to the Highlanders, who had the
greatest respect for artillery.
Sir John Cope, who had received intelligence of all that had happened at
Edinburgh, had also moved forward on the 19th, and on the 20th the two
armies came in sight of each other. The Highlanders, after passing the
bridge of Musselburgh, left the road, and turning to the right took up
their position on the brow of Carberry Hill, and there waited the attack.
The English forces were marching forward with high spirit, and believed
that the Highlanders would not even wait their assault. Cope had with him
two thousand two hundred men, including the six hundred runaway dragoons.
The numbers, therefore, were nearly equal; but as the English were well
armed, disciplined, and equipped, while only about half the Highlanders
had muskets, and as they had, moreover, six pieces of artillery against
the one unserviceable gun of Prince Charles, they had every reason to
consider the victory to be certain.
On seeing the Highland array Cope drew up his troops in order of
battle--his infantry in the centre, with a regiment of dragoons and three
pieces of artillery on each flank. His right was covered by a park wall
and by the village of Preston. On his left stood Seaton House, and in his
rear lay the sea, with the villages of Prestonpans and Cockenzie. Their
front was covered by a deep and difficult morass.
It was now about three o'clock in the afternoon, and the Highlanders,
seeing that the English did not advance against them, clamoured to be led
to the attack. Prince Charles was himself eager to fight, but his
generals persuaded him to abstain from attacking the English in such a
formidable position. The Highlanders, however, fearing that the English
would again avoid a battle, were not satisfied until Lord Nairn with five
hundred men was detached to the westward to prevent the English from
marching off towards Edinburgh.
During the night the two armies lay upon the ground. Cope retired to
sleep at Cockenzie, the prince lay down in the middle of his soldiers.
Before doing so, however, he held a council, and determined to attack
next morning in spite of the difficulty of the morass. But in the course
of the night Anderson of Whitburg, a gentleman well acquainted with the
country, bethought himself of a path from the height towards their right
by the farm of Ruigan Head, which in a great measure avoided the morass.
This important fact he imparted to Lord George Murray, who at once awoke
the prince.
Locheil and some other chiefs were sent for, and it was determined to
undertake the enterprise at once. An aide de camp was sent to recall Lord
Nairn and his detachment, and under the guidance of Anderson the troops
made their way across the morass. This was not, however, accomplished
without great difficulty, as in some places they sank knee deep. The
march was unopposed, and covered by the darkness they made their way
across to firm ground just as the day was breaking dull and foggy. As
they did so, however, the dragoon outposts heard the sound of their
march, and firing their pistols galloped off to give the alarm. Sir John
Cope lost no time facing his troops about, and forming them in order of
battle. He was undisturbed while doing so, for the Highlanders were
similarly occupied.
As the sun rose the mist cleared away, and the two armies stood face to
face. The Macdonalds had been granted the post of honour on the Highland
right, the line being completed by the Camerons and Stuarts, Prince
Charles with the second line being close behind. The Highlanders
uncovered their heads, uttered a short prayer, and then as the pipers
blew the signal they rushed forward, each clan in a separate mass, and
raising their war cry, the Camerons and Stuarts rushed straight at the
cannon on the left.
These guns were served, not by Royal Artillerymen, but by some seamen
brought by Cope from the fleet. They, panic struck by the wild rush of
the Highlanders, deserted their guns and fled in all directions. Colonel
Gardiner called upon his dragoons to follow him, and with his officers
led them to the charge. But the Stuarts and Camerons, pouring in a volley
from their muskets, charged them with their broadswords, and the
dragoons, panic stricken, turned their horses and galloped off.
The Macdonalds on the right had similarly captured three guns, and
charging with similar fury upon Hamilton's regiment of dragoons, drove
them off the field; Macgregor's company, who, for want of other weapons
were armed with scythes, doing terrible execution among the horses and
their riders. The English infantry, deserted by their cavalry, and with
their guns lost, still stood firm, and poured a heavy fire into the
Highlanders; but these, as soon as they had defeated the cavalry, faced
round and charged with fury upon both flanks of the infantry. Their
onslaught was irresistible. The heavy masses of the clans broke right
through the long line of the English infantry, and drove the latter
backward in utter confusion. But the retreat was impeded by the inclosure
and park wall of Preston, and the Highlanders pressing on, the greater
portion of the English infantry were killed or taken prisoners.
A hundred and seventy of the infantry alone succeeded in making their
escape, four hundred were killed, and the rest captured. Colonel Gardiner
and many of his officers were killed fighting bravely, but the loss of
the dragoons was small. Only thirty of the Highlanders were killed, and
seventy wounded. The battle lasted but six minutes, and the moment it had
terminated Prince Charles exerted himself to the utmost to obtain mercy
for the vanquished.
He treated the prisoners with the greatest kindness and consideration,
and the wounded were relieved without any distinction of friend or foe.
The dragoons fled to Edinburgh, and dashed up the hill to the castle; but
the governor refused to admit them, and threatened to open his guns upon
them as cowards who had deserted their colours. Later on in the day the
greater portion were rallied by Sir John Cope and the Earls of Loudon and
Home; but being seized with a fresh panic they galloped on again at full
speed as far as Coldstream, and the next morning continued their flight
in a state of disgraceful disorder as far as Berwick. The contents of the
treasure chest, consisting of two thousand five hundred pounds, with the
standards and other trophies, were brought to Prince Charles. The rest of
the spoil was divided among the Highlanders, of whom a great number
immediately set off towards their homes to place the articles they had
gathered in safety.
So greatly was the Highland army weakened by the number of men who thus
left the ranks that the prince was unable to carry out his wish for an
instant advance into England. His advisers, indeed, were opposed to this
measure, urging that in a short time his force would be swelled by
thousands from all parts of Scotland; but unquestionably his own view was
the correct one, and had he marched south he would probably have met with
no resistance whatever on his march to London. There were but few troops
in England. A requisition had been sent to the Dutch by King George for
the six thousand auxiliaries they were bound to furnish, and a resolution
was taken to recall ten English regiments home from Flanders.
Marshal Wade was directed to collect as many troops as he could at
Newcastle, and the militia of several counties was called out; but the
people in no degree responded to the efforts of the government. They
looked on coldly, not indeed apparently favouring the rebellion, but as
little disposed to take part against it. The state of public feeling was
described at the time by a member of the administration, Henry Fox, in a
private letter.
"England, Wade says, and I believe, is for the first comer, and if you
can tell me whether these six thousand Dutch and the ten battalions of
England, or five thousand French or Spaniards, will be here first, you
know our fate. The French are not come, God be thanked; but had five
thousand landed in any part of this island a week ago, I verily believe
the entire conquest would not have cost a battle."
The prince indeed was doing his best to obtain assistance from France,
conscious how much his final success depended upon French succour.
King Louis for a time appeared favourable. The prince's brother, Henry of
York, had arrived from Rome, and the king proposed to place him at the
head of the Irish regiments in the king's service and several others to
enable him to effect a landing in England; but with his usual insincerity
the French king continued to raise difficulties and cause delays until it
was too late, and he thus lost for ever the chance of placing the family
who had always been warm friends of France, and who would in the event of
success have been his natural friends and allies, on the throne of
England.
In the meantime Prince Charles had taken up his abode in Edinburgh, where
he was joined by most of the gentry of Scotland. He was proclaimed king
in almost every town of the Tweed, and was master of all Scotland, save
some districts beyond Inverness, the Highland forts, and the castles of
Edinburgh and Stirling.. Prince Charles behaved with the greatest
moderation. He forbade all public rejoicing for victory, saying that he
could not rejoice over the loss which his father's misguided subjects had
sustained. He abstained from any attempt to capture Edinburgh Castle, or
even to cut off its supplies, because the general of the castle
threatened that unless he were allowed to obtain provisions he would fire
upon the city and lay it in ruins, and he even refused to interfere with
a Scotch minister who continued from his pulpit to pray for King George.
In one respect he carried his generosity so far as to excite discontent
among his followers. It was proposed to send one of the prisoners taken
at Preston to London with a demand for the exchange of prisoners taken or
to be taken in the war, and with the declaration that if this were
refused, and if the prince's friends who fell into the enemy's hands were
put to death as rebels, the prince would be compelled to treat his
captives in the same way. It was evident that this step would be of great
utility, as many of the prince's adherents hesitated to take up arms, not
from fear of death in battle, but of execution if taken prisoners.
The prince, however, steadily refused, saying, "It is beneath me to make
empty threats, and I will never put such as this into execution. I cannot
in cold blood take away lives which I have saved in the heat of action."
Six weeks after the victory the prince's army mustered nearly six
thousand men; but Macleod, Macdonald, and Lovat, who could have brought a
further force of four thousand men, still held aloof. Had these three
powerful chiefs joined at once after the battle of Prestonpans, Prince
Charles could have marched to London, and would probably have succeeded
in placing his father on the throne, without having occasion to strike
another blow; but they came not, and the delay caused during the
fruitless negotiations enabled the English troops to be brought over from
Flanders, while Prince Charles on his side only received a few small
consignments of arms and money from France.
But in the meantime Edinburgh was as gay as if the Stuart cause had been
already won. Receptions and balls followed each other in close
succession, and Prince Charles won the hearts of all alike by his
courtesy and kindness, and by the care which he showed for the comfort of
his troops.
At the commencement of the campaign Lord George Murray had but one aide
de camp besides Ronald. This was an officer known as the Chevalier de
Johnstone, who afterwards wrote a history of the campaign. After the
battle of Prestonpans he received a captain's commission, and immediately
raised a company, with which he joined the Duke of Perth's regiment. Two
other gentlemen of family were then appointed aides de camp, and this
afforded some relief to Ronald, whose duties had been extremely heavy.
A week after the battle Lord George said to Ronald:
"As there is now no chance of a movement at present, and I know that you
care nothing for the court festivities here, I propose sending you with
the officers who are riding into Glasgow tomorrow, with the orders of the
council that the city shall pay a subsidy of five thousand pounds towards
the necessities of the state. The citizens are Hanoverians to a man, and
may think themselves well off that no heavier charge is levied upon them.
Do you take an account of what warlike stores there are in the magazines
there, and see that all muskets and ammunition are packed up and
forwarded."
The next morning Ronald started at daybreak with several other mounted
gentlemen and an escort of a hundred of Clanranald's men, under the
command of the eldest son of that chief, for Glasgow, and late the same
evening entered that city. They were received with acclamation by a part
of the population; but the larger portion of the citizens gazed at them
from their doorways as they passed in sullen hostility. They marched
direct to the barracks lately occupied by the English troops, the
gentlemen taking the quarters occupied by the officers. A notification
was at once sent to the provost to assemble the city council at nine
o'clock in the morning, to hear a communication from the royal council.
As soon as Malcolm had put up Ronald's horse and his own in the stables,
and seen to their comfort, he and Ronald sallied out. It was now dark,
but they wrapped themselves up in their cloaks so as not to be noticed,
as in the hostile state of the town they might have been insulted and a
quarrel forced upon them, had they been recognized as two of the new
arrivals. The night, however, was dark, and they passed without
recognition through the ill lighted streets to the house of Andrew
Anderson. They rang at the bell. A minute later the grille was opened,
and a voice, which they recognized as that of Elspeth, asked who was
there, and what was their business.
"We come to arrest one Elspeth Dow, as one who troubles the state and is
a traitor to his majesty."
There was an exclamation from within and the door suddenly opened.
"I know your voice, bairn. The Lord be praised that you have come back
home again!" and she was about to run forward, when she checked herself.
"Is it yourself, Ronald?"
"It is no one else, Elspeth," he replied, giving the old woman a hearty
kiss.
"And such a man as you have grown!" she exclaimed in surprise. For the
two years had added several inches to Ronald's stature, and he now stood
over six feet in height.
"And have you no welcome for me, Elspeth?" Malcolm asked, coming forward.
"The Lord preserve us!" Elspeth exclaimed. "Why, it's my boy Malcolm!"
"Turned up again like a bad penny, you see, Elspeth."
"What is it, Elspeth?" Andrew's voice called from above. "Who are these
men you are talking to, and what do they want at this time of night?"
"They want some supper, Andrew," Malcolm called back, "and that badly."
In a moment Andrew ran down and clasped his brother's hand. In the
darkness he did not notice Malcolm's companion, and after the first
greeting with his brother led the way up stairs.
"It is my brother Malcolm," he said to his wife as he entered the room.
Ronald followed Malcolm forward. As the light fell on his face Andrew
started, and, as Ronald smiled, ran forward and clasped him in his arms.
"It is Ronald, wife! Ah, my boy, have you come back to us again?"
Mrs. Anderson received Ronald with motherly kindness.
"We had heard of your escape before your letter came to us from Paris.
Our city constables brought back the news of how you had jumped
overboard, and had been pulled into a boat and disappeared. And finely
they were laughed at when they told their tale. Then came your letter
saying that it was Malcolm who had met you with the boat, and how you had
sailed away and been wrecked on the coast of France; but since then we
have heard nothing."
"I wrote twice," Ronald said; "but owing to the war there have been no
regular communications, and I suppose my letters got lost."
"And I suppose you have both come over to have a hand in this mad
enterprise?"
"I don't know whether it is mad or not, Andrew; but we have certainly
come over to have a hand in it," Malcolm said. "And now, before we have a
regular talk, let me tell you that we are famishing. I know your supper
is long since over, but doubtless Elspeth has still something to eat in
her cupboard. Oh, here she comes!"
Elspeth soon placed a joint of cold meat upon the table, and Ronald and
Malcolm set to at once to satisfy their hunger. Then a jar of whiskey and
glasses were set upon the table, and pipes lighted, and Ronald began a
detailed narration of all that had taken place since they had last met.
"Had my father and mother known that I was coming to Scotland, and should
have an opportunity of seeing you both, they would have sent you their
warmest thanks and gratitude for your kindness to me," he concluded. "For
over and over again have I heard them say how deeply they felt indebted
to you for your care of me during so many years, and how they wished that
they could see you and thank you in person."
"What we did was done, in the first place, for my brother Malcolm, and
afterwards for love of you, Ronald; and right glad I am to hear that you
obtained the freedom of your parents and a commission as an officer in
the service of the King of France. I would be glad that you had come over
here on any other errand than that which brings you. Things have gone on
well with you so far; but how will they end? I hear that the Jacobites of
England are not stirring, and you do not think that with a few thousand
Highland clansmen you are going to conquer the English army that beat the
French at Dettingen, and well nigh overcame them at Fontenoy. Ah, lad, it
will prove a sore day for Scotland when Charles Stuart set foot on our
soil!"
"We won't talk about that now, Andrew," Malcolm said good temperedly.
"The matter has got to be fought out with the sword, and if our tongues
were to wag all night they could make no difference one way or another.
So let us not touch upon politics. But I must say, that as far as Ronald
and I are concerned, we did not embark on this expedition because we had
at the moment any great intention of turning Hanoverian George off his
throne; but simply because Ronald had made France too hot to hold him,
and this was the simplest way that presented itself of getting out of the
country. As long as there are blows to be struck we shall do our best.
When there is no more fighting to be done, either because King James is
seated on his throne in London, or because the clans are scattered and
broken, we shall make for France again, where by that time I hope the
king will have got over the breach of his edict and the killing of his
favourite, and where Ronald's father and mother will be longing for his
presence."
"Eh, but it's awful, sirs," Elspeth, who as an old and favourite servant
had remained in the room after laying the supper and listened to the
conversation, put in, "to think that a young gallant like our Ronald
should have slain a man! He who ought not yet to have done with his
learning, to be going about into wars and battles, and to have stood up
against a great French noble and slain him. Eh, but it's awful to think
of!"
"It would be much more awful, Elspeth, if the French noble had killed me,
at least from the light in which I look at it."
"That's true enough," Elspeth said. "And if he wanted to kill you, and it
does seem from what you say that he did want, of course I cannot blame
you for killing him; but to us quiet bodies here in Glasgow it seems an
awful affair; though, after you got in a broil here and drew on the city
watch, I ought not to be surprised at anything."
"And now we must go," Ronald said, rising. "It is well nigh midnight, and
time for all decent people to be in bed."