Chapter XXV: A.d. 1715 (2)

On returning to Edinburgh the Duke of Argyle gave orders for the removal of some pieces of cannon from the castle to Leith, with the intention of making an assault upon the citadel the following morning with the whole of his force, including the dragoons, which he had resolved to dismount for the occasion. But he was saved the necessity of such a hazardous attempt, the insurgents evacuating the place the same night. Old Borlum, seeing no chance of obtaining possession of Edinburgh, and considering that the occupation of the citadel, even if tenable, was not of sufficient importance to employ such a large body of men in its defence, had resolved, shortly after the departure of the duke, to abandon the place, and to retrace his steps without delay, and with all the secrecy in his power. Two hours before his departure, he sent a boat across the Frith with despatches to the Earl of Mar, giving him a detail of his proceedings since his landing, and informing him of his intention to retire. To deceive the men-of-war which lay at anchor in the Roads, he caused a shot to be fired after the boat, which had the desired effect of making the officers in command of the ships think the boat had some friends of the government on board, and thus allowing her to pursue her course without obstruction.

At nine o’clock at night, every thing being in readiness, Mackintosh, favoured by the darkness of the night and low water, left the citadel secretly, and pursuing his course along the beach, crossed, without observation, the small rivulet which runs through the harbour at low water, and which was then about knee deep, and passing the point of the pier, pursued his route south-eastward along the sands of Leith. At his departure, Mackintosh was obliged to leave about 40 men behind him, who having made too free with the brandy which had been found in the custom-house, were not in a condition to march. These, with some stragglers who lagged behind, were afterwards taken prisoners by a detachment of Argyle’s forces, which also captured some baggage and ammunition.

The Highlanders continued their march during the night, and arrived at two o’clock on the morning of Sunday, the 16th of October, at Seaton House, the seat of the Earl of Wintoun, who had already joined the Viscount Kenmure. Here, during the day, they were joined by a small party of their friends, who had crossed the Frith some time after the body which marched to Leith had landed, and who, from having disembarked farther to the eastward, had not been able to reach their companions before their departure for the capital. As soon as the Duke of Argyle heard of Mackintosh’s retreat, and that he had taken up a position in Seaton House, which was encompassed by a very strong and high stone wall, he resolved to follow and besiege him in his new quarters. But the duke was prevented from carrying this design into execution by receiving intelligence that Mar was advancing upon Stirling with the intention of crossing the Forth.

Being apprised by the receipt of Mackintosh’s despatch from Leith, of the Brigadier’s design to march to the south, Mar had resolved, with the view principally of facilitating his retreat from Leith, to make a movement upon Stirling, and thereby induce the Duke of Argyle to return to the camp in the Park with the troops which he had carried to Edinburgh. Mar, accordingly, left Perth on Monday the 17th of October, and General Witham, the commander of the royalist forces at Stirling in Argyle’s absence, having on the previous day received notice of Mar’s intention, immediately sent an express to the duke, begging him to return to Stirling immediately, and bring back the forces he had taken with him to Edinburgh. The express reached Edinburgh at an early hour on Monday morning, and the duke immediately left Edinburgh for Stirling, leaving behind him only 100 dragoons and 150 foot under General Wightman. On arriving at Stirling that night he was informed that Mar was to be at Dunblane next morning with his whole army, amounting to nearly 10,000 men.[707]

The arrival of his Grace was most opportune, for Mar had in fact advanced the same evening, with all his horse, to Dunblane, little more than six miles from Stirling, and his foot were only a short way off from the latter place. Whether Mar would have really attempted the passage of the Forth but for the intelligence he received next morning, is very problematical; but having been informed early on Tuesday of the duke’s return, and of the arrival of Evans’s regiment of dragoons from Ireland, he resolved to return to Perth. In a letter which he wrote to Mr. Forster from Perth on the 21st of October, after alluding to the information he had received, he gives as an additional reason for this determination, that he had left Perth before provisions could be got ready for his army, and that he found all the country about Stirling, where he meant to pass the Forth, so entirely exhausted by the enemy that he could find nothing to subsist upon. Besides, from a letter he had received from General Gordon, he found the latter could not possibly join him that week, and he could not think of passing the Forth, under the circumstances detailed, till joined by him. Under these difficulties, and having accomplished one of the objects of his march, by withdrawing the Duke of Argyle from the pursuit of his friends in Lothian, he had thought fit, he observes, to march back from Dunblane to Auchterarder, and thence back to Perth, there to wait for Gordon and the Earl of Seaforth.

Mackintosh, in expectation probably of an answer to his despatch from Leith, appeared to be in no hurry to leave Seaton House, where his men fared sumptuously upon the best which the neighbourhood could afford. As all communication was cut off between him and the capital by the 100 dragoons which Argyle had left behind, and a party of 300 gentlemen-volunteers under the command of the Earl of Rothes, who patrolled in the neighbourhood of Seaton House, Mackintosh was in complete ignorance of Argyle’s departure from the capital, and of Mar’s march. This was fortunate, as it seems probable that had the Brigadier been aware of these circumstances, he would have again advanced upon the capital, and might have captured it. During the three days that Mackintosh lay in Seaton House, no attempt was, of course, made to dislodge him from his position, but he was subjected to some petty annoyances by the volunteers and dragoons, between whom and the Highlanders some occasional shots were interchanged without damage on either side. Having deviated from the line of instructions, Mackintosh appears to have been anxious, before proceeding south, to receive from Mar such new or additional directions as a change of circumstances might require. Mar lost no time in replying to Borlum’s communication, and on Tuesday the 18th of October, Borlum received a despatch desiring him to march immediately towards England, and form a junction near the borders with the English Jacobite forces under Mr. Forster, and those of the south of Scotland under Lord Kenmure. On the same day, Mackintosh received a despatch from Mr. Forster, requesting him to meet him without delay at Kelso or Coldstream.[708]

To give effect to these instructions, Mackintosh left Seaton House next morning, and proceeded across the country towards Longformacus, which he reached that night. Doctor Sinclair, the proprietor of Hermandston House, had incurred the Brigadier’s displeasure by his treatment of the laird of Keith, to revenge which he threatened to burn Sinclair’s mansion in passing it on his way south, but he was persuaded not to carry his threat into execution. He, however, ordered his soldiers to plunder the house, a mandate which they obeyed with the utmost alacrity. When Major-general Wightman heard of Mackintosh’s departure, he marched from Edinburgh with some dragoons, militia and volunteers, and took possession of Seaton House. After demolishing the wall which surrounded it, he returned to Edinburgh in the evening, carrying along with him some Highlanders who had lagged behind or deserted from Mackintosh on his march.[709]

Mackintosh took up his quarters at Longformacus during the night, and continued his march next morning to Dunse, where he arrived during the day and proclaimed the Chevalier. Here Mackintosh halted two days, and on the morning of Saturday the 22d of October, set out on his march to Kelso, the appointed place of rendezvous, whither the Northumbrian forces under Forster were marching the same day. Sir William Bennet of Grubbet and his friends hearing of the approach of these two bodies, left the town the preceding night, and, after dismissing their followers, retired to Edinburgh. The united forces of Forster and Kenmure entered Kelso about one o’clock on Saturday. The Highlanders had not then arrived, but hearing that they were not far off, the Scottish cavalry, to mark their respect for the bravery the Highlanders had shown in crossing the Frith, marched out as far as Ednam bridge to meet them, and accompanied them into the town about three o’clock in the afternoon, amidst the martial sounds of bagpipes. The forces under Mackintosh now amounted to 1,400 foot and 600 horse; but a third of the latter consisted of menial servants.

The following day, being Sunday, was entirely devoted by the Jacobites to religious duties. Patten, the historian of the insurrection, an episcopal minister and one of their chaplains, in terms of instructions from Lord Kenmure, who had the command of the troops while in Scotland, preached in the morning in the great church of Kelso, formerly the abbey of David I., to a mixed congregation of Catholics, Presbyterians and Episcopalians, from Deuteronomy xxi. 17. “The right of the first-born is his.”[710] The prayers on this occasion were read by Mr. Buxton, formerly alluded to. In the afternoon Mr. William Irvine, an old Scottish Episcopalian minister, chaplain to the Earl of Carnwath, read prayers, and delivered a sermon full of exhortations to his hearers to be zealous and steady in the cause of the Chevalier. This discourse, he afterwards told his colleague, Mr. Patten, he had formerly preached in the Highlands about twenty-six years before, in presence of Lord Viscount Dundee and his army.

Next morning the Highlanders were drawn up in the church-yard, and thence marched to the market-cross with colours flying, drums beating, and bagpipes playing, when the Chevalier was proclaimed by Seaton of Barnes, who claimed the vacant title of Earl of Dunfermline. After finishing the proclamation, he read the manifesto quoted in the conclusion of last chapter, at the end of which the people with loud acclamations shouted, “No union! no malt-tax! no salt-tax!”[711]

The insurgents remained three days in Kelso, chiefly occupied in searching for arms and plundering the houses of some of the loyalists in the neighbourhood. They took possession of some pieces of cannon which had been brought by Sir William Bennet from Hume castle for the defence of the town, and which had formerly been employed to protect that ancient stronghold against the attacks of the English. They also seized some broadswords which they found in the church, and a small quantity of gunpowder. Whilst at Kelso, Mackintosh seized the public revenue, as was his uniform custom in every town through which he passed.

During their stay at Kelso, the insurgents seem to have come to no determination as to future operations; but the arrival of General Carpenter with three regiments of dragoons, and a regiment of foot, at Wooler, forced them to resolve upon something decisive. Lord Kenmure, thereupon, called a council of war to deliberate upon the course to be pursued. According to the opinions of the principal officers, there were three ways of proceeding. The first, which was strongly urged by the Earl of Wintoun, was to march into the west of Scotland, to reduce Dumfries and Glasgow, and thereafter to form a junction with the western clans, under General Gordon, to open a communication with the Earl of Mar, and threaten the Duke of Argyle’s rear. The second was to give battle immediately to General Carpenter, who had scarcely 1,000 men under him, the greater part of whom consisted of newly-raised levies, who had never seen any service. This plan was supported by Mackintosh, who was so intent upon it, that, sticking his pike in the ground, he declared that he would not stir, but would wait for General Carpenter, and fight him, as he was sure there would be no difficulty in beating him. The last plan, which was that of the Northumberland gentlemen, was to march directly through Cumberland and Westmoreland into Lancashire, where the Jacobite interest was very powerful, and where they expected to be joined by great numbers of the people. Old Borlum was strongly opposed to this view, and pointed out the risk which they would run, if met by an opposing force, which they might calculate upon, while General Carpenter was left in their rear. He contended, that if they succeeded in defeating Carpenter, they would soon be able to fight any other troops,--that if Carpenter should beat them, they had already advanced far enough, and that they would be better able, in the event of a reverse, to shift for themselves in Scotland than in England.[712]

Either of the two first-mentioned plans was far preferable to the last, even had the troops been disposed to adopt it; but the aversion of the Highlanders to a campaign in England was almost insuperable; and nothing could mark more strongly the fatuity of the Northumberland Jacobites, than to insist, under these circumstances, upon marching into England. But they pertinaciously adhered to their opinion, and, by doing so, may be truly said to have ruined the cause which they had combined to support. As the comparatively small body of troops under Argyle was the only force in Scotland from which the insurgents had any thing to dread, their whole attention should have been directed in the first place to that body, which could not have withstood the combined attacks of the forces which the rebels had in the field, amounting to about 16,000 men. The Duke of Argyle must have been compelled, had the three divisions of the insurgent army made a simultaneous movement upon Stirling, to have hazarded a battle, and the result would very probably have been disastrous to his arms. Had such an event occurred, the insurgents would have immediately become masters of the whole of Scotland, and would soon have been in a condition to have carried the war into England with every hope of success.

Amidst the confusion and perplexity occasioned by these differences of opinion, a sort of medium course was in the mean time resolved upon, till the chiefs of the army should reconcile their divisions. The plan agreed upon was, that they should, to avoid an immediate encounter with General Carpenter, decamp from Kelso, and proceed along the border in a south-westerly direction towards Jedburgh: accordingly, on Thursday the 27th of October, the insurgents proceeded on their march. The disagreement which had taken place had cooled their military fervour, and a feeling of dread, at the idea of being attacked by Carpenter’s force, soon began to display itself. Twice, on the march to Jedburgh, were they thrown into a state of alarm, approaching to terror,[713] by mistaking a party of their own men for the troops of General Carpenter.

Instead of advancing upon Jedburgh, as they supposed Carpenter would have done, the insurgents ascertained that he had taken a different direction in entering Scotland, and that from their relative positions, they were considerably in advance of him in the proposed route into England. The English officers thereupon again urged their views in council, and insisted upon them with such earnestness, that Old Borlum was induced, though with great reluctance, and not till after very high words had been exchanged, to yield. Preparatory to crossing the Borders, they despatched one Captain Hunter (who, from following the profession of a horse-stealer on the Borders, was well acquainted with the neighbouring country,) across the hills, to provide quarters for the army in North Tynedale; but he had not proceeded far, when an order was sent after him countermanding his march, in consequence of a mutiny among the Highlanders, who refused to march into England. The English horse, after expostulating with them, threatened to surround and compel them to march; but Mackintosh informed them that he would not allow his men to be so treated, and the Highlanders themselves despising the threat, gave them to understand that they would resist the attempt.[714]

The determination, on the part of the Highlanders, not to march into England, staggered the English gentlemen; but as they saw no hopes of inducing their northern allies to enter into their views, they consented to waive their resolution in the meantime, and by mutual consent the army left Jedburgh on the 29th of October for Hawick, about ten miles to the south-west. While on the march to Hawick, a fresh mutiny broke out among the Highlanders, who, suspecting that the march to England was still resolved upon, separated themselves from the rest of the army, and going up to the top of a rising ground on Hawick moor, grounded their arms, declaring, at the same time, that although they were determined not to march into England, they were ready to fight the enemy on Scottish ground. Should the chiefs of the army decline to lead them against Carpenter’s forces, they proposed, agreeably to the Earl of Wintoun’s advice, either to march through the west of Scotland and join the clans under General Gordon, by crossing the Forth above Stirling, or to co-operate with the Earl of Mar, by falling upon the Duke of Argyle’s rear, while Mar himself should assail him in front. But the English officers would listen to none of these propositions, and again threatened to surround them with the horse and force them to march. The Highlanders, exasperated at this menace, cocked their pistols, and told their imprudent colleagues that if they were to be made a sacrifice, they would prefer being destroyed in their own country. By the interposition of the Earl of Wintoun a reconciliation was effected, and the insurgents resumed their march to Hawick, on the understanding that the Highlanders should not be again required to march into England.[715]

The insurgents passed the night at Hawick, during which the courage of the Highlanders was put to the test, by the appearance of a party of horse, which was observed by their advanced posts patrolling in front. On the alarm being given, the Highlanders immediately flew to arms, and forming themselves in very good order by moonlight, waited with firmness the expected attack; but the affair turned out a false alarm, purposely got up, it is believed, by the English commanders, to try how the Highlanders would conduct themselves, should an enemy appear.[716] Next morning, being Sunday, the 30th of October, the rebels marched from Hawick to Langholm, about which time General Carpenter entered Jedburgh. They arrived at Langholm in the evening, and with the view, it is supposed, of attacking Dumfries, they sent forward to Ecclefechan, during the night, a detachment of 400 horse, under the Earl of Carnwath, for the purpose of blocking up Dumfries till the foot should come up. This detachment arrived at Ecclefechan before day-light, and, after a short halt, proceeded in the direction of Dumfries; but they had not advanced far, when they were met by an express from some of their friends at Dumfries, informing them that great preparations had been made for the defence of the town. The Earl of Carnwath immediately forwarded the express to Langholm, and, in the meantime, halted his men on Blacket ridge, a moor in the neighbourhood of Ecclefechan, till further orders. The express was met by the main body of the army about two miles west from Langholm, on its march to Dumfries.

The intelligence thus conveyed, immediately created another schism in the army. The English, who had been prevailed upon, from the advantages held out to the Jacobite cause by the capture of such an important post as Dumfries, to accede to the proposal for attacking it, now resumed their original intention of marching into England. The Highlanders, on the other hand, insisted upon marching instantly upon Dumfries, which they alleged might be easily taken, as there were no regular forces in it. It was in vain that the advocates of this plan urged upon the English the advantages to be derived from the possession of a place so convenient as Dumfries was, for receiving succours from France and Ireland, and for keeping up a communication with England and their friends in the west of Scotland. It was to no purpose they were assured, that there were a great many arms and a good supply of powder in the town, which they might secure, and that the Duke of Argyle, whom they appeared to dread, was in no condition to injure them, as he had scarcely 2,000 men under him, and was in daily expectation of being attacked by the Earl of Mar, whose forces were then thrice as numerous;--these and similar arguments were entirely thrown away upon men who had already determined at all hazards to adhere to their resolution of carrying the war into England. To induce the Scottish commanders to concur in their views, they pretended that they had received letters from their friends in Lancashire inviting them thither, and assuring them that on their arrival a general insurrection would take place, and that they would be immediately joined by 20,000 men, and would have money and provisions in abundance. The advantages of a speedy march into England being urged with extreme earnestness by the English officers, all their Scottish associates, with the exception of the Earl of Wintoun, at last consented to try the chances of war on the soil of England. Even Old Borlum, (who, at the time the parties were discussing the point in dispute, was busily engaged at a distance from the place where the main body had halted, restraining a party of the Highlanders from deserting,) yielded to the entreaties of the English officers, and exerted all his influence to induce his men to follow his example. By the aid of great promises and money, the greater part of the Highlanders was prevailed upon to follow the fortunes of their commander, but about 500 of them marched off in a body to the north. Before they reached Clydesdale, however, they were almost all made prisoners by the country people, and lodged in jail. The Earl of Wintoun, who was quite opposed to the measure resolved upon, also went off with his adherents, but being overtaken by a messenger who was despatched after him to remonstrate with him for abandoning his friends, he consented to return, and immediately rejoined the army. When overtaken, he drew up his horse, and, after a momentary pause, as if reflecting on the judgment which posterity would form of his conduct, observed with chivalrous feeling, that history should not have to relate of him that he deserted King James’s interest or his country’s good, but with a deep presentiment of the danger of the course his associates were about to pursue, he added, “You,” addressing the messenger, “or any man shall have liberty to cut these (laying hold of his own ears as he spoke) out of my head, if we do not all repent it.”

The insurgents, after spiking two pieces of cannon which they had brought from Kelso, immediately proceeded on their march for England, and entered Longtown in Cumberland the same night, where they were joined by the detachment which had been sent to Ecclefechan the previous night. On the following day, November 1st, they marched to Brampton, a small market town in Cumberland, where they proclaimed the Chevalier, and levied the excise duties on malt and ale. Mr. Forster now opened a commission which he had lately received from the Earl of Mar, appointing him general of the Jacobite forces in England. As the men were greatly fatigued by forced marches, having marched about 100 miles in five successive days, they took up their quarters at Brampton for the night to refresh themselves. When General Carpenter heard that the insurgents had entered England, he left Jedburgh, and recrossing the hills into Northumberland, threw himself between them and Newcastle, the seizure of which, he erroneously supposed, was the object of their movement.

Next day the insurgents marched towards Penrith, on approaching which they received intelligence that the _posse comitatus_ of Cumberland, amounting to nearly 14,000 men, headed by the sheriff of the county, and attended by Lord Lonsdale and the Bishop of Carlisle, had assembled near Penrith on the line of their march to oppose their advance. Mr., now General Forster, sent forward a party to reconnoitre, but he experienced no trouble from this immense rustic force, which broke up and dispersed in the utmost confusion on hearing of the approach of the reconnoitring party. Patten, the historian of the rebellion, who had formerly been curate of Penrith, attempted, at the head of a party of horse, to intercept his superior, the Bishop of Carlisle, but his lordship escaped. The insurgents captured some horses and a large quantity of arms, and also took several prisoners, who being soon released, expressed their gratitude by shouting, “God save King James and prosper his merciful army.”[717] To impress the inhabitants of Penrith with a favourable idea of their strength and discipline, the insurgents halted upon a moor in the neighbourhood, where they formed themselves in order of battle, and thereafter entered the town in regular marching order. The principal inhabitants, from an apprehension of being plundered, showed great attention to them, in return for which, and the comfortable entertainment which they received, they abstained from doing any act which could give offence. They however raised, according to custom, the excise and other public duties.

Next day the insurgents marched to Appleby, where, as at Penrith, they proclaimed the Chevalier and seized the public revenue. After halting two days at this town, they resumed their march on the 5th of November, and arrived at Kendal, where they took up their quarters for the night. Next morning, being Sunday, they, after a short march, reached Kirkby-Lonsdale, where, after proclaiming the Chevalier, they went to the church in the afternoon, where, in absence of the parson, who had absconded, Mr. Patten read prayers. This author relates a singular instance of Jacobite zeal on the part of a gentleman of the name of Guin, or Gwyn, who entered the churches which lay in the route of the army, and scratching out the name of King George from the prayer books, substituted that of the Chevalier in its stead, in a manner so closely resembling the print that the alteration could scarcely be perceived.

The insurgents had now marched through two populous counties, but they had obtained the accession of only two gentlemen to their ranks. They would probably have received some additions in Cumberland and Westmoreland, had not precautions been taken by the sheriffs of these counties beforehand to secure the principal Catholics and lodge them in the castle of Carlisle. Despairing of obtaining any considerable accession of force, 17 gentlemen of Teviotdale had left the army at Appleby, and the Highlanders, who had borne the fatigues of the march with great fortitude, now began to manifest signs of impatience at the disappointment they felt in not being joined by large bodies of men as they were led to expect. Their prospects, however, began to brighten by the arrival of some Lancashire Catholic gentlemen and their servants at Kirkby-Lonsdale, and by the receipt of intelligence the following day, when on their march to Lancaster, that the Jacobites of Lancashire were ready to join them, and that the Chevalier had been proclaimed at Manchester.[718]

The insurgents entered Lancaster without opposition, and instantly marching to the market-place, proclaimed the Chevalier by sound of trumpet, the whole body being drawn up round the cross. After remaining two days at Lancaster, where the Highlanders regaled themselves with claret and brandy found in the custom-house, they took the road to Preston on Wednesday the 9th of November, with the intention of possessing themselves of Warrington bridge and securing Manchester, as preliminary to a descent upon Liverpool. The horse reached Preston at night, two troops of Stanhope’s dragoons and part of a militia regiment under Sir Henry Houghton, which were quartered in the town, retiring to Wigan on their approach; but owing to the badness of the road from a heavy rain which had fallen during the day, the foot did not arrive till the following day, when the Chevalier was proclaimed at the cross with the usual formalities. On the march from Lancaster to Preston, and after their arrival there, the insurgents were joined by different parties of gentlemen, chiefly Catholics, with their tenants and servants, to the number of about 1,500 in all, by which additions Forster’s army was increased to nearly 4,000 men.

Forster, who had kept a strict watch upon Carpenter, and of whose movements he received regular accounts daily, was, however, utterly ignorant of the proceedings of a more formidable antagonist, who, he was made to understand by his Lancashire friends, was at too great a distance to prove dangerous. This was General Wills, who had the command in Cheshire, and who was now busily employed in concentrating his forces for the purpose of attacking the rebels. Unfortunately for them, the government had been induced, by the tumults and violences of the high-church party in the west of England during the preceding year, to quarter bodies of troops in the disaffected districts, which being disposed at Shrewsbury, Chester, Birmingham, Stafford, Wolverhampton, Manchester, and other adjacent places, could be easily assembled together on a short notice. On information being communicated to the government of the invasion of England, General Wills had been directed to collect all the forces he could, and to march upon Warrington bridge and Preston, to prevent the advance of the insurgents upon Manchester.

General Wills had, accordingly, made great exertions to fulfil, without delay, the instructions he had received, and hearing that General Carpenter was at Durham, had sent an express to him to march westward; but he was unable to save Preston. When the insurgents entered this town, Wills was at Manchester, waiting for the arrival of two regiments of foot and a regiment of dragoons, which were within a few days’ march of him; but alarmed lest by delaying his march the rebels might make themselves masters of Warrington bridge and Manchester, by the possession of which they would increase their force and secure many other advantages, he resolved instantly to march upon Preston with such troops as he had. He left Manchester, accordingly, on Friday the 11th of November, for Wigan, with four regiments of dragoons, one of horse, and Preston’s regiment of foot, formerly known as the Cameronian regiment. He arrived at Wigan in the evening, where he met Stanhope’s dragoons and Houghton’s militia, who had retired from Preston on the evening of the 9th. In the meantime, the inhabitants of Liverpool anticipating a visit from the insurgents, were actively employed in preparations for its defence. Within three days they threw up a breastwork round that part of the town approachable from the land side, on which they mounted 70 pieces of cannon, and, to prevent the ships in the harbour from falling into the hands of the enemy, they anchored them in the offing.

It was the intention of Forster to have left Preston on the morning of Saturday the 12th; but the unexpected arrival of Wills at Wigan, of which he received intelligence on the preceding night, made him alter his design. Forster had been so elated by the addition which his forces had received at Preston, that he affected to believe that Wills would never venture to face him; but old Mackintosh advised him not to be too confident, as they might soon find it necessary to defend themselves. Observing from a window where they stood, a party of the new recruits passing by, the veteran warrior thus contemptuously addressed the inexperienced general, “Look ye there, Forster, are yon fellows the men ye intend to fight Wills with. Good faith, Sir, an’ ye had ten thousand of them, I’d fight them all with a thousand of his dragoons.” In fact, a more uncouth and unsoldier-like body had never before appeared in the field, than these Lancashire rustics; some with rusty swords without muskets, others with muskets without swords, some with fowling-pieces, others with pitchforks, while others were wholly unprovided with weapons of any sort.[719] Forster now altered his tone; and if the report of a writer, who says he was an eye-witness, be true, the news of Wills’s advance quite unnerved him. Undetermined how to act, he sent the letter conveying the intelligence to Lord Kenmure, and retired to rest. His lordship, with a few of his officers, repaired to Forster’s lodgings to consult him, and, to their surprise, found him in bed, though the night was not far advanced. The council, after some deliberation, resolved to send out a party of horse towards Wigan, to watch the motions of the enemy, to secure the pass into the town by Ribble bridge, and to prepare the army for battle.[720]

About day-break of the 12th, General Wills commenced his march from Wigan, and as soon as it was known that he was advancing upon Preston, a select body of 100 well-armed Highlanders, under the command of Farquharson of Invercauld, was posted at Ribble bridge, and Forster himself at the head of a party of horse, crossed the bridge, and advanced to reconnoitre.

The approach to Ribble bridge, which is about half a mile from Preston, is by a deep path between two high banks, and so narrow in some places that scarcely two men can ride abreast. Here it was that Cromwell, in an action with the royalists, was nearly killed by a large fragment of a rock thrown from above, and only escaped by forcing his horse into a quicksand. The possession, therefore, of this pass, was of the utmost importance to the insurgents, as Wills was not in a condition to have forced it, being wholly unprovided with cannon. Nor could he have been more successful in any attempt to pass the river, which was fordable only at a considerable distance above and below the bridge, and might have been rendered impassable in different ways. But the Jacobite general was grossly ignorant of every thing appertaining to the art of war, and in an evil hour ordered the party at the bridge to abandon it, and retire into the town.

General Wills arrived opposite Ribble bridge about one o’clock in the afternoon, and was surprised to find it undefended. Suspecting an ambuscade, he advanced through the way leading to the bridge with great caution, and having cleared the bridge, marched towards the town. He, at first, supposed that the insurgents had abandoned the town with the intention of returning to Scotland; but he soon ascertained that they still maintained their ground, and were resolved to meet him. Halting, therefore, his men upon a small rising ground near the town, he rode forward with a strong party of horse to take a survey of the position of the insurgents.

During the morning they had been busily employed in raising barricades in the principal streets, and making other preparations for a vigorous defence. The Earl of Derwentwater displayed extraordinary activity and zeal on this occasion. He distributed money among the troops, exhorted them to stand firm to their posts, and set them an example by throwing off his coat, and assisting them in raising intrenchments. There were four main barriers erected across the leading streets near the centre of the town, at each of which, with one exception, were planted two pieces of cannon, which had been carried by the insurgents from Lancaster, and beyond these barriers, towards the extremities of the town, others were raised of an inferior description. Behind the barricades bodies of men were posted, as well as in the houses outside the barricades, particularly in those which commanded the entrances into the principal streets. Certainly after the abandonment of Ribble bridge, a more judicious plan of defence could not have been devised by the ablest tactician for meeting the coming exigency; but unfortunately for the insurgents, the future conduct of their leaders did not correspond with these skilful dispositions.

One of the main barriers was a little below the church, and was commanded by Brigadier Mackintosh, the task of supporting whom was devolved upon the gentlemen volunteers, who were drawn up in the churchyard under the command of Viscount Kenmure and the Earls of Derwentwater, Nithsdale, and Wintoun. A body of Highlanders, under Lord Charles Murray, third son of the Duke of Athole, was posted at another barrier at the end of a lane leading to the fields. Colonel Mackintosh, at the head of the Mackintoshes, was posted at a third barricade called the Windmill barrier, from its adjoining such a structure on the road to Lancaster. At the remaining barrier, which was in the street leading to the Liverpool road, were placed some of the gentlemen volunteers, and a part of the Earl of Strathmore’s regiment under the command of Major Miller and Mr. Douglas.

When the government general had made himself acquainted with the plan of defence adopted by the insurgents, he returned to his main body, and made preparations for an immediate attack. As he had not sufficient forces to make a simultaneous assault upon all the barriers, he resolved to confine himself at first to two only, those commanded by Old Borlum and Colonel Mackintosh, in the streets leading to Wigan and Lancaster respectively, at both ends of the town. For this purpose he divided his troops into three bodies;--the first consisted of Preston’s regiment of foot, and 250 dismounted dragoons taken in equal proportions from the five dragoon regiments. This division was commanded by Brigadier Honeywood, and was supported by his own regiment of dragoons. The second body consisted of the regiments of Wynn and Dormer, and a squadron of Stanhope’s regiment, all of which were dismounted;--the last division, consisting of Pitt’s horse and the remainder of Stanhope’s regiment, was kept as a reserve for supporting the other divisions as occasion should require, and to prevent the insurgents from escaping over the Ribble.

The action was begun by the division of Honeywood, which, after driving a party of the insurgents from a small barricade at the extremity of one of the leading streets, entered the town, and attacked the barrier near the church, defended by Brigadier Mackintosh; but Honeywood’s men were unable to make any impression, and after sustaining a galling and destructive fire from the barrier and from the houses on both sides of the street, they were forced to retreat from the street with considerable loss. Some of the officers of Preston’s regiment being informed whilst engaged in the street, that the street leading to Wigan was not barricaded, and that the houses on that side were not possessed by the insurgents, Lord Forrester, the lieutenant-colonel, resolved, after Honeywood’s division had failed to establish itself in the neighbourhood of the church, to attempt an entrance in that direction. He accordingly drew off his men by a narrow back passage or lane which led into the street in the direction of Wigan, and ordering them to halt till he should personally survey the position of the insurgents, this intrepid officer deliberately rode into the street with his drawn sword in his hand, and amidst a shower of bullets, coolly examined the barrier, and returned to his troops. He then sallied into the street at the head of his men, and whilst with one party he attacked the barrier, another under his direction crossed the street, and took possession of a very high house belonging to Sir Henry Houghton, which overlooked the whole town. In this enterprise many of the assailants fell by the fire of the insurgents who were posted in the adjoining houses. At the same time, Forrester’s men possessed themselves of another house opposite, which was unoccupied by the insurgents. The possession of these houses was of immense advantage to the government troops, as it was from the firing kept up from them that the insurgents chiefly suffered. A party of 50 Highlanders, under Captain Innes, had been posted in Houghton’s house, and another body in the opposite one; but Brigadier Mackintosh had unfortunately withdrawn both parties, contrary to their own wishes, to less important stations.

Forrester’s men maintained the struggle with great bravery, but were unsuccessful in every attempt to force the barrier. As the insurgents, from their position in the houses and behind the barricade, were enabled to take deliberate aim, many of their shots took deadly effect, and the gallant Lord Forrester received several wounds; but although Preston’s foot kept up a smart fire, they did little execution among the insurgents, who were protected by the barricade and the houses. Captain Peter Farquharson was the only Jacobite officer who fell in this attack. He received a shot in the leg, and being taken to the White Bull inn, where the wounded were carried, he called for a glass of brandy, and thus addressed his comrades:--“Come lads, here is our master’s health; though I can do no more, I wish you good success.” Amputation being deemed necessary, this brave man expired, almost immediately, from the unskilfulness of the operator.

Whilst this struggle was going on near the church, a contest equally warm was raging in another quarter of the town between Dormer’s division and the party under Lord Charles Murray. In approaching the barrier commanded by this young nobleman, Dormer’s men were exposed to a well-directed and murderous fire from the houses, yet, though newly-raised troops, they stood firm, and reached the barricade, from which, however, they were vigorously repulsed. Lord Charles Murray conducted himself with great bravery in repelling this attack, and anticipating a second attempt upon the barrier, he obtained a reinforcement of 50 gentlemen volunteers from the churchyard. Dormer’s troops returned to the assault, but although they displayed great courage and resolution, they were again beaten back with loss. An attack made on the Windmill barricade, which was defended by Colonel Mackintosh, was equally unsuccessful.

Thus repulsed in all their attacks, and as in their approaches to the barriers the government troops had been incessantly exposed to a regular and well-directed fire from the houses, General Wills issued orders to set the houses at both ends of the town on fire, for the purpose of dislodging the insurgents from such annoying positions, and cooping them up in the centre of the town. Many houses and barns were in consequence consumed, including almost the entire range of houses as far as Lord Charles Murray’s barrier. As the assailants advanced under cover of the smoke of the conflagration, many of the insurgents, in attempting to escape from the flames, were cut down on the spot. The rebels in their turn attempted to dislodge the government troops from the houses of which they had obtained possession, by setting them on fire. Fortunately there was no wind at the time, otherwise the whole town would have been reduced to ashes.

Night came on, yet an irregular platooning was, notwithstanding, kept up till next day by both parties. To distinguish the houses possessed by the government forces, General Wills ordered them to be illuminated, a circumstance which gave the besieged a decided advantage, as the light from the windows enabled them to direct their fire with better effect. Wills soon perceived the error he had committed, and sent persons round to order the lights to be extinguished, which order being promulgated aloud in the streets, was so strangely misunderstood by those within, that, to the amusement of both parties, they set up additional lights. During the night a considerable number of the insurgents left the town.

Before day-break, General Wills visited the different posts, and gave directions for opening a communication between both divisions of the army to support each other, should necessity require. During the morning, which was that of Sunday the 13th of November, he was occupied in making arrangements for renewing the attack. Meantime General Carpenter arrived about ten o’clock with Churchill’s and Molesworth’s dragoons, accompanied by the Earl of Carlisle, Lord Lumley, and others. This event was as exhilarating to the royalists as it was disheartening to the besieged, who, notwithstanding the defection of their more timorous associates during the preceding night, were, before the accession of Carpenter, fully a match for their assailants. Wills, after explaining to Carpenter the state of matters, and the dispositions he had made, offered to resign the command to him, as his superior officer; but being satisfied with Wills’s conduct, Carpenter declined to accept it, remarking, that as he had begun the affair so well, he ought to have the glory of finishing it. On examining matters himself, however, Carpenter found that the town was not sufficiently invested, particularly at the end of Fishergate street, which led to a meadow by which the insurgents could easily have escaped. He therefore posted Pitt’s horse along the meadow, and lest the whole body of the besieged should attempt to force a retreat that way, he caused a communication to be opened through the enclosures on that side, that the other divisions of the army might the more readily hasten thither to intercept them.

Thus invested on all sides, and pent up within a narrow compass by the gradual encroachments of the royalists, the Jacobite general grew alarmed, and began to think of a surrender. The Highlanders were fully aware of their critical situation, but the idea of surrendering had never once entered their minds, and they had been restrained only by the most urgent entreaties from sallying out upon the royalists, and cutting their way through their ranks, or dying, as they remarked, like men of honour, with their swords in their hands. Neither Forster nor any other officer durst therefore, venture to make such a proposal to them, and Patten asserts, that had they known that Colonel Oxburgh had been sent on the mission he undertook, he would have never seen Tyburn, but would have been shot by common consent before he had passed the barrier. This gentleman, who had great influence over Forster (and who, in the opinion of the last-named author, was better calculated, from the strictness with which he performed his religious duties, to be a priest than a field officer), in conjunction with Lord Widdrington and others, prevailed upon him to make an offer of capitulation, thinking that they would obtain favourable terms from the government general. This resolution was adopted without the knowledge of the rest of the officers, and Oxburgh, who had volunteered to negotiate, went off about two o’clock in the afternoon to Wills’s head-quarters. To prevent suspicion of his real errand, the soldiers were informed that General Wills had sent to offer them honourable terms, if they would lay down their arms.

The reception of Oxburgh by General Wills was very different from what he and his friends had anticipated. Wills, in fact, absolutely refused to hear of any terms, and upon Oxburgh making an offer that the insurgents should lay down their arms, provided he would recommend them to the mercy of the king, he informed him that he would not treat with rebels, who had killed several of his Majesty’s subjects, and who consequently must expect to undergo the same fate. The colonel, thereupon, with great earnestness, begged the general, as an officer and a man of honour, to show mercy to people who were willing to submit. The royalist commander, somewhat softened, replied, that all he would promise was, that if the insurgents would lay down their arms and surrender themselves prisoners at discretion, he would prevent the soldiers from cutting them to pieces till further orders; and that he would allow them an hour for the consideration of his offer. The result of this interview was immediately reported by Oxburgh to his friends, but nothing had transpired to throw any light upon their deliberations. Before the hour had elapsed, Mr. Dalzell, brother of the Earl of Carnwath, appeared at Wills’s head quarters, and requested to know what terms he would grant separately to the Scots; Wills answered that he would not treat with rebels, nor grant any other terms than those already offered.

To bring matters to an immediate issue, General Wills sent Colonel Cotton into the town about three o’clock in the afternoon, to require an immediate answer to Wills’s proposal. He was told, however, that differences existed between the English and Scottish officers upon the subject, but they requested that the general would allow them till seven o’clock next morning to settle their differences, and to consult upon the best method of delivering themselves up. This proposal being reported to Wills, he agreed to grant the Jacobite commanders the time required, provided they would bind themselves to throw up no new entrenchments in the streets, nor allow any of their men to escape; for the performance of which stipulations he required the delivery of approved hostages.--Cotton having returned to the town, the Earl of Derwentwater and Brigadier Mackintosh were pitched upon as hostages for the observance of these stipulations, and sent to the royalist head-quarters.

As soon as the Highlanders perceived that a capitulation was resolved upon, their fury knew no bounds. They declared that sooner than surrender, they would die fighting, and that when they could no longer defend their posts, they would attempt to cut their way through their assailants, and make a retreat. During the night they paraded the streets, threatening destruction to every person who should even allude to a surrender. During these disturbances, several persons were killed, and many wounded, and Mr. Forster, who was openly denounced as the originator of the capitulation, would certainly have been cut to pieces by the infuriated soldiers, had he appeared in the streets. He made a narrow escape even in his own chamber, a gentleman of the name of Murray having fired a pistol at him, the ball from which would have taken effect had not Mr. Patten, the Jacobite chaplain, struck up the pistol with his hand, and thus diverted the course of the bullet.

At seven o’clock next morning, Forster notified to General Wills that the insurgents were willing to surrender at discretion as he had required. Old Borlum being present when this message was delivered, observed that he would not be answerable for the Scots surrendering without terms, as they were people of desperate fortunes; and that he who had been a soldier himself, knew what it was to be a prisoner at discretion. “Go back to your people again,” answered Wills, “and I will attack the town, and the consequence will be I will not spare one man of you.” After this challenge, Mackintosh could not with a good grace remain, and returned to his friends; but he came back immediately, and informed Wills that Lord Kenmure and the rest of the Scots noblemen would surrender on the same conditions as the English.

Colonel Cotton was thereupon despatched with a detachment of 200 men to take possession of the town, and the rest of the government forces thereafter entered it in two grand divisions, amid the sound of trumpets and beating of drums, and met in the market-place, where the Highlanders were drawn up under arms ready to surrender. The number of prisoners taken on this occasion was 1,468, of whom about 463 were English, including 75 noblemen and gentlemen; of the Scots 143 were noblemen and gentlemen. The noblemen and gentlemen were placed under guards in the inns of the town, and the privates were confined in the church. On the part of the insurgents there were only 17 killed and 25 wounded in the different attacks, but the loss on the part of the royalists was very considerable, amounting, it is believed, to five times the number of the former. From the small number of prisoners taken, it would appear that few of the country people who had joined the insurgents when they entered Lancashire, had remained in Preston. They probably left the town during the nights of Saturday and Sunday.[721]

FOOTNOTES:

[686] _Annals of 2d year of George I._, p. 30.

[687] Idem, pp. 36-7.

[688] Patten, pp. 159, 160. _Annals of George I._, pp. 39, 40. Rae, pp. 199, 200.

[689] _Annals of Second Year of George I._, p. 40.--Patten, p. 160.

[690] Rae.

[691] Rae, p. 223.--_Life of John, Duke of Argyle._ London, 1745, pp. 178, 179.

[692] _Life of John Duke of Argyle_, p. 180.

[693] Idem, p. 181.

[694] _Life of the Duke of Argyle_, p. 184.

[695] _Collection of original Letters and Authentic Papers relating to the Rebellion, 1715_, p. 20.

[696] _Annals of 2d year of George I._, p. 41. Patten, p. 5-155-220.

[697] _Annals of 2d year of George I._, p. 42.

[698] _Annals of George I._, pp. 43, 44. Patten, p. 156. Rae, p. 234.