Chapter XXIX: A.d. 1745 (1)

BRITISH SOVEREIGN:--George II., 1727-1760.

Preparations--Departure of the expedition--Incidents of the
voyage--The Prince lands in Eriska--Has interviews with Macdonald
of Boisdale and young Clanranald--Kinlochmoidart, Dr. Cameron,
and others, visit the Prince--Charles lands at Borodale--Cameron,
younger, of Lochiel--His interview with the Prince--Charles
arrives at Kinlochmoidart--Commencement of hostilities--Charles
raises his standard at Glenfinnan--Manifesto--The Chevalier’s
ignorance of the expedition.

From mere auxiliaries in the war of the Austrian succession, Great Britain and France at last entered the field as principals; and in the spring of 1745, both parties were prepared to decide their respective differences by force of arms. The Jacobites, who looked upon war as the harbinger to a speedy realisation of their wishes and their hopes, awaited the result with anxiety; though, from the policy of France, it was not difficult to perceive that the issue, whether favourable or unfavourable to France, would in reality neither advance nor retard the long looked for restoration. France, if defeated in the field, almost on her own frontiers, would require all her forces to protect herself; and could not, therefore, be expected to make a diversion on the shores of Britain. And, on the other hand, if successful in the campaign about to open in Flanders, she was likely to accomplish the objects for which the war had been undertaken, without continuing an expensive and dubious struggle in support of the Stuarts.

Charles Edward Stuart, the aspirant to the British throne, seems to have viewed matters much in the same light on receiving intelligence of the victory obtained by the French over the allies at Fontenoy.[805] In writing to one of his father’s agents at Paris,[806] who had sent him information of the battle, Charles observes that it was not easy to form an opinion as to whether the result would “prove good or bad” for his affairs. He had, however, taken his resolution to go to Scotland, though unaccompanied even by a single company of soldiers; and the event which had just occurred made him determine to put that resolution into immediate execution. At Fontenoy, the British troops maintained by their bravery the national reputation, but they were obliged to yield to numbers; yet, to use the words of a French historian, “they left the field of battle without tumult, without confusion, and were defeated with honour.”[807] The flower of the British army was, however, destroyed; and as Great Britain had been almost drained of troops, Charles considered the conjuncture as favourable, and made such preparations for his departure as the shortness of the time would allow.

The French government was apprised of Charles’s intentions, and though the French ministers were not disposed openly to sanction an enterprise which they were not at the time in a condition to support, they secretly favoured a design, which, whatever might be its result, would operate as a diversion in favour of France. Accordingly, Lord Clare, (afterwards Marshal Thomond,) then a lieutenant-general in the French service, was authorised to open a negotiation with two merchants of Irish extraction, named Ruttledge and Walsh, who had made some money by trading to the West Indies. They had, since the war, been concerned in privateering; and with the view of extending their operations, had lately obtained from the French government a grant of the Elizabeth, an old man-of-war of sixty-six guns, and they had purchased a small frigate of sixteen guns named the Doutelle, both of which ships were in the course of being fitted out for a cruise in the north seas. Lord Clare having introduced Charles to Ruttledge and Walsh, explained the prince’s design, and proposed that they should lend him their ships. This proposal was at once acceded to by the owners, who also offered to supply the prince with money and such arms as they could procure, in fulfilment of which offer they afterwards placed in his hands the sum of £3,800.[808]

While the preparations for the expedition were going on, Charles resided at Navarre, a seat of the Duke of Bouillon, and occupied himself in hunting, fishing, and shooting. A few persons only in his own confidence were aware of his intentions; and so desirous was he of concealing his movements from his father’s agents at Paris, that he gave out, shortly before his departure, that he intended to visit the monastery of La Trappe, in the vicinity of Rouen, and would return to Paris in a few days.[809] The prince ordered the few followers who were to accompany him to assemble at Nantes, near the mouth of the Loire; and the better to conceal their design, they arrived there singly, took up their residence in different parts of the town, and when they met on the streets did not seem to recognise one another.[810]

When informed that every thing was in readiness for his departure, Charles went to Nantes in disguise, and having descended the Loire in a fishing boat on the 20th of June, (O. S.) 1745, embarked on the 21st on board the Doutelle at St. Nazaire, whence he proceeded on the following day to Belleisle, where he was joined on the 4th of July by the Elizabeth, which had on board 100 marines raised by Lord Clare, about 2,000 muskets, and 500 or 600 French broad-swords. The persons who accompanied Charles were the Marquis of Tullibardine,[811] elder brother of James, Duke of Athole; Sir Thomas Sheridan, who had been tutor to Charles; Sir John Macdonald, an officer in the Spanish service; Francis Strickland, an English gentleman; George Kelly, a clergyman; Æneas or Angus Macdonald, a banker in Paris, brother to Kinlochmoidart; and O’Sullivan, an officer in the service of France. These were afterwards designated the “Seven Men of Moidart.” There were also some persons of inferior note, among whom were one Buchanan, who had been employed as a messenger to Rome by Cardinal Tencin, and Duncan Cameron, formerly a servant of old Lochiel at Boulogne, who was hired for the expedition, for the purpose, as he informs us, of descrying the “Long Isle.”[812]

The expedition sailed from Belleisle on the 5th of July with a fair wind, which continued favourable till the 8th, when a dead calm ensued. On the following day, when in the latitude of 47° 57´ north, and thirty-nine leagues west from the meridian of the Lizard, a sail was descried to windward, which proved to be the Lion, a British man-of-war of sixty guns, commanded by Captain Brett. When the Lion hove in sight, the prince, for better accommodation, was preparing to go on board the Elizabeth; but luckily for him he laid aside his design on the appearance of the man-of-war. While the Lion was bearing down on the French ships, M. D’Oe, or D’Eau, the captain of the Elizabeth, went on board the Doutelle, where a council of war was immediately held, at which it was determined, if possible, to avoid an action; but if an action became inevitable, that the Elizabeth should receive the first broadside, and should thereupon endeavour to board her adversary. While this conference lasted, both ships kept running before the wind; but the Lion being a fast sailing vessel soon neared the Elizabeth, and, when within nearly a mile of her, hove to for the purpose of reconnoitring the French ships and preparing for action. Judging an action now unavoidable, Captain D’Oe proposed to Walsh, one of the proprietors of the two vessels, and who acted as commander of the Doutelle, that while the Elizabeth and Lion were engaged, the Doutelle should assist the Elizabeth by playing upon the Lion at a distance; but Walsh declined to interfere in any shape. The Captain of the Elizabeth thereupon drew his sword, and taking leave, went back to his ship, with his drawn sword in his hand, to prepare for action.[813]

Captain D’Oe had scarcely reached the Elizabeth when the Lion bore down upon her. Contrary to the plan laid down on board the Doutelle, the Elizabeth gave the first broadside, which was instantly returned by the Lion; and before the Elizabeth could get her other side to bear upon her opponent, the latter tacked about and poured in another broadside into the Elizabeth, which raked her fore and aft, and killed a great number of her men. Notwithstanding this untoward beginning, the Elizabeth maintained the fight for nearly five hours, when night coming on, and both vessels being complete wrecks, they parted as if by mutual consent. The prince, in the Doutelle, viewed the battle with great anxiety, and, it is said, importuned the captain to assist the Elizabeth, but Walsh positively refused to engage, and intimated to the prince, that if he continued his solicitations, he would order him down to the cabin.[814]

After the action was over, Captain Walsh bore up to the Elizabeth to ascertain the state of matters, and was informed by a lieutenant of the severe loss she had sustained in officers and men, and the crippled state she was in. He, however, offered to pursue the voyage if supplied with a main-mast and some rigging, but Walsh had no spare materials; and after intimating that he would endeavour to finish the voyage himself, and advising the commander of the Elizabeth to return to France, both ships parted, the Elizabeth on her way back to France, and the Doutelle on her voyage to the Western Highlands.[815]

On the 11th of July a sail was discovered, which gave chase to the Doutelle; but being a swift-sailing vessel she outran her pursuer. She encountered a rough sea and tempestuous weather on the 15th and 16th, after which the weather became fine till the midnight of the 20th, when a violent storm arose. She stood out the gale, however, and on the 22d came within sight of land, which was discovered to be the southern extremity of Long Island, a name by which, from their appearing at a distance, and in a particular direction, to form one island, the islands of Lewis, the Uists, Barra, and others, are distinguished. On approaching the land, a large ship, which appeared to be an English man-of-war, was descried between the Doutelle and the island. On perceiving this vessel, Walsh changed the course of the Doutelle, and stretching along the east side of Barra, reached the strait between South Uist and Eriska, the largest of a cluster of little rocky islands that lie off South Uist. When near the land, Duncan Cameron, before mentioned, was sent on shore in the long-boat to bring off a proper pilot, and having accidentally met the piper of Macneil of Barra, with whom Cameron was acquainted, he took him on board. In the strait alluded to, the Doutelle cast anchor on the 23d of July, having been eighteen days at sea.[816]

Accompanied by his attendants, the prince immediately landed in Eriska, and was conducted to the house of Angus Macdonald, the tacksman, or principal tenant thereof and of the small islands adjoining. To anticipate that prying curiosity and speculation which the inhabitants of the western isles always display on the arrival of strangers, the prince’s companions represented him as a young Irish priest, a species of visitor by no means uncommon in these islands, whither priests from the opposite coast of Ireland had been long accustomed to resort, for the purpose of giving the islanders that religious instruction and consolation of which, by the change in the national religion, they had been almost debarred from receiving from the hands of native priests. From the tacksman of Eriska, the party learned, that Macdonald, chief of Clanranald, and Macdonald of Boisdale, his brother, were upon the island of South Uist, and that young Clanranald, the son of the chief, was at Moidart upon the mainland. As Boisdale was understood to have great influence with his brother, a messenger was immediately despatched to South Uist, requesting his attendance on board the Doutelle.

Charles and his companions passed the night in the house of the tacksman, but the accommodation was very indifferent. They had not a sufficient supply of beds, but the prince, regardless of his own ease, declined to occupy one.[817] Next morning they returned to the ship. Boisdale soon thereafter made his appearance. As his brother, Clanranald, was unfit, from age and bad health, to be of any essential service, Charles was anxious to secure the assistance of Boisdale, by whose means he expected that the clan would be induced to rise in his support. Boisdale had, however, already made up his mind upon the subject, and the result of the interview was extremely discouraging to Charles. At first, the prince proposed that Boisdale should accompany him to the mainland, and endeavour to engage his nephew to take up arms; but Boisdale decidedly declined the proposal, and even declared that he would do every thing in his power to prevent his brother and nephew from engaging in an enterprise which he considered desperate. Baffled in his first attempt, Charles next proposed to despatch Boisdale with a message to Sir Alexander Macdonald of Sleat and the Laird of Macleod, who had extensive possessions in the island of Skye, requesting their assistance; but Boisdale informed the prince that such a mission would be useless, as he had seen Sir Alexander Macdonald and Macleod very lately,--that they had stated to him the probability that the prince would arrive, but that if he came without a body of regular troops, they were determined not to join him, and were of opinion that no other person would. Boisdale added, that he was instructed by these gentlemen to mention their resolution to the prince in case he should meet him on his arrival, and to advise him, should he come unprovided with troops, to return directly to France.

Charles was sadly perplexed at Boisdale’s obduracy, but he endeavoured to soften him by representing his affairs in the most favourable light; but the Highlander was inflexible. Whilst this prolonged altercation was going on, two vessels appeared making for the strait in which the Doutelle lay, a circumstance which induced her commander to weigh anchor and stand in for the mainland. Boisdale, still pressed by the prince, remained on board till the ship had advanced several miles in her course, when he entered his boat, and left Charles to ruminate over his disappointment. The Doutelle continued her course during the night, and next morning cast anchor in the bay of Lochnanuagh, which partly divides the countries of Moidart and Arisaig.[818] On approaching the strait, the Marquis of Tullibardine, when about to retire below to dinner, observed an eagle hovering over the frigate, which he looked upon as a happy augury, but afraid of being taxed by his companions with superstition, he at first took no notice of the circumstance. On coming upon deck after dinner, he saw the eagle still hovering above the vessel and following her in her course. No longer able to restrain himself, he directed the attention of Charles and his suite to the royal bird, and thereafter turning to the prince, thus addressed him: “Sir, I hope this is an excellent omen, and promises good things to us. The king of birds is come to welcome your royal highness upon your arrival in Scotland.”

Though foiled in his attempt upon Boisdale, the young adventurer resolved to repeat the same experiment upon his nephew, and accordingly he immediately sent a boat on shore with a letter to young Clanranald; Æneas Macdonald also went on shore to bring off Kinlochmoidart, his brother. Kinlochmoidart came on board immediately, and after a short interview with the prince, was despatched with letters to Lochiel, the Duke of Perth, Murray of Broughton and others.

Next day young Clanranald, accompanied by his kinsmen, Alexander Macdonald of Glenalladale, Æneas Macdonald of Dalily and a Highland officer (author of a journal and memoirs of the expedition),[819] came to Forsy, a small village opposite to the Doutelle’s anchorage ground. They called for the ship’s boat, and were immediately carried on board. The feelings of the party on getting upon deck are thus described by the writer alluded to. “Our hearts were overjoyed to find ourselves so near our long-wished-for prince; we found a large tent erected with poles on the ship’s deck, covered and well furnished with variety of wines and spirits. As we entered this pavilion we were most cheerfully welcom’d by the Duke of Athole, to whom some of us had been known in the year 1715. While the duke was talking with us, Clanranald was a-missing, and had, as we understood, been called into the prince’s cabin, nor did we look for the honour of seeing His R. H. at least for that night.”[820]

Of the conversation which took place between the prince and young Clanranald during the three hours they were closeted together, no account was ever given; but it is probable that if the latter stated any objections against the enterprise, they had been overcome before he rejoined his companions, as no allusion is made by the writer just quoted, to any unwillingness on the part of the young chieftain to join the prince. Maxwell of Kirkconnel, who mentions the refusal of Boisdale, says, that young Clanranald frankly offered his services to the prince,[821] a statement which, from the ardent and romantic attachment for the Stuarts with which that young chieftain was inspired, seems to approximate nearer the truth than that of Home, who classes Kinlochmoidart and young Clanranald together, as joining in a positive refusal to take up arms.

According to Home, young Clanranald and Kinlochmoidart came on board together, and were addressed, with great emotion, by Charles, who had been almost reduced to despair by his interview with Boisdale. After using all the arguments he could for taking up arms, he conjured them to assist their countryman, their prince, in his utmost need. Though well inclined and warmly attached to the cause, the gentlemen in question are said to have positively refused, and to have told the prince, one after another, that to take up arms in their present unprepared state, without concert or support, would bring down certain destruction on their own heads. Charles persisted, argued, and implored, but without effect. During this conversation the parties walked backwards and forwards upon the deck, and were closely eyed by a Highlander who stood near them armed at all points, as was then the fashion of the country. He was a younger brother of Kinlochmoidart, and had come off to the ship to inquire for news, not knowing who was on board. When he gathered from their discourse that the stranger was Prince Charles, and heard his chief and his brother refuse to take up arms in his behalf, his colour went and came, his eyes sparkled, he shifted his place and grasped his sword. Charles observing his demeanour, stopped short, and turning towards him, put this interrogatory, “Will not you assist me?” “I will! I will!” exclaimed Ranald; “though no other man in the Highlands should draw a sword, I am ready to die for you.” Charles, delighted with the young man’s answer, evinced his gratitude by a profusion of thanks and acknowledgments, extolled his champion to the skies, and said he only wished that all the Highlanders were like him. Stung with the prince’s observation, which could be regarded only as a reproach, and smitten by the example set by the heroic youth, the two Macdonalds instantly declared that they would unsheath their swords in support of the claims of the house of Stuart, and would use their utmost endeavours to rouse their countrymen to arms.[822]

After the interview with the prince, Clanranald returned to his friends, who had, during the conference, been regaling themselves in the pavilion. In about half-an-hour thereafter, the prince entered the tent and took his seat without appearing to notice any of the company. His appearance, and the scene which followed, are thus described by an eyewitness. “There entered the tent a tall youth of a most agreeable aspect, in a plain black coat with a plain shirt, not very clean, and a cambrick stock fixed with a plain silver buckle, a fair round wig out of the buckle, a plain hat with a canvas string having one end fixed to one of his coat buttons; he had black stockings, and brass buckles in his shoes. At his first appearance I found my heart swell to my very throat. We were immediately told by one Obrian, a churchman, that this youth was also an English clergyman, who had long been possessed with a desire to see and converse with Highlanders.

“When this youth entered, Obrian forbid any of those who were sitting to rise; he saluted none of us, and we only made a low bow at a distance. I chanced to be one of those who were standing when he came in, and he took his seat near me, but immediately started up again and caused me to sit down by him upon a chest. I at this time taking him only to be a passenger or some clergyman, presumed to speak to him with too much familiarity, yet still retained some suspicion he might be one of more note than he was said to be. He asked me if I was not cold in that habit, (viz. the Highland garb,) I answered I was so habituated to it, that I should rather be so (feel cold) if I was to change my dress for any other. At this he laughed heartily, and next inquired how I lay with it at night, which I explained to him. He said that by wrapping myself so close in my plaid I would be unprepared for any sudden defence in the case of a surprise. I answered that in such times of danger, or during the war, we had a different method of using the plaid, that with one spring I could start to my feet with drawn sword and cocked pistol in my hand, without being the least encumbered with my bed-clothes. Several such questions he put to me; then rising quickly from his seat he calls for a dram, when the same person whispered me a second time to pledge the stranger but not to drink to him, by which seasonable hint I was confirmed in my suspicion who he was. Having taken a glass of wine in his hand, he drank to us all round, and soon after left us.”[823]

Having thus secured the support of young Clanranald, Charles selected him to execute the commission which his uncle, Boisdale, had refused to undertake. Accordingly, on the 22d of July the young chieftain, attended by Allan Macdonald, a younger brother of Kinlochmoidart, was despatched with letters from the prince, to Sir Alexander Macdonald and the laird of Macleod, to solicit the aid of their services. These powerful chieftains, who could raise nearly 2,000 men between them, had promised to join the prince if he brought a foreign force along with him, but when they found that he had come without troops, they considered themselves released from their engagements, and refused to join in an enterprise which they considered desperate.[824]

During young Clanranald’s absence, Donald Macdonald of Scothouse, Dr. Archibald Cameron on the part of his brother Donald Cameron, younger of Lochiel, and Hugh Macdonald, brother of the laird of Morar, came on board the Doutelle. The latter, on his way home from Edinburgh, had met Kinlochmoidart crossing the water of Lochy, and had been informed by him of the arrival of the prince.[825] In expectation of seeing the prince, he went to Kinlochmoidart’s house, where he found Æneas Macdonald, brother of Kinlochmoidart, who told him that he might see the prince the following day if he pleased, but cautioned him not to accost him as such, as the prince passed for a French abbé with the crew of the vessel, who were ignorant of his rank. Next day the two Macdonalds went on board; and Charles, being informed of the name and character of his visitor, invited him down to the cabin. In a conversation which ensued, Hugh Macdonald expressed his fears as to the result of the expedition if persevered in, and hinted that, as he had brought no forces along with him, the most eligible course the prince could pursue, was to return to France, and wait a more favourable opportunity. Charles remarked that he did not wish to be indebted for the restoration of his father to foreigners, but to his own friends; that he had now put it in their power to have the glory of doing so, and that as to returning to France without making an attempt, foreigners should never have to say that he had thrown himself upon his friends, that they had turned their backs upon him, and that he had been forced to retire for shelter to foreign lands. He concluded by observing, that if he could get only six stout trusty fellows to join him, he would choose rather to skulk with them among the mountains of Scotland than return to France. Dr. Cameron also urged Charles to return, and told him that Lochiel had made up his mind not to join; but Charles returned the same answer he had given to Hugh Macdonald. On the return from Skye of young Clanranald and Allan Macdonald, who brought back an absolute refusal from Sir Alexander Macdonald and the laird of Macleod, the whole party on board, including even Sir Thomas Sheridan, by whose advice the prince generally acted, importuned him to desist, chiefly on the ground that the refusal of two such influential and powerful chieftains would prevent others, who were well disposed to the cause, from joining; but Charles was immoveable, and though without a single supporter, persisted in his resolution.[826]

Charles remained on board the Doutelle till the 25th of July, the interval between which day and that of his arrival in Lochnanuagh, was spent in despatching letters and receiving communications from his friends, and in consultations with his companions and the adherents who visited him, as to the means to be adopted for raising the clans that were favourably disposed. During the same interval, all the arms, ammunition, and stores were landed; and every thing being in readiness for his reception on shore, Charles, accompanied by his suite, landed at Borodale, a farm belonging to Clanranald, and took up his abode in the house of Angus Macdonald, the tenant of the farm, who received him and his companions with a hearty welcome. By orders of young Clanranald, Macdonald of Glenalladale and another gentleman of the clan, had collected about 100 of their men to serve as a body-guard to the prince, all of whom were hospitably entertained at Borodale.

No situation could have been any where selected more suitable for the circumstances and designs of Charles than the abode he had chosen. Besides being one of the most remote and inaccessible places in the western Highlands of Scotland, it was surrounded on all sides by the territories of the most devoted adherents of the house of Stuart, by the descendants of the heroes of Kilsyth and Killiecrankie, in whose breasts the spirit of revenge had taken deep root, for the cruelties which had followed the short-lived insurrection of 1715, and the affronts to which they had been subjected under the disarming act. These mountaineers had long sighed for an opportunity of retaliation, and they were soon to imagine that the time for vengeance had arrived.

As soon as the landing of Charles was known, the whole neighbourhood was in motion, and repaired, “without distinction of age or sex,”[827] to the house of Borodale, to see a man with whose success they considered the glory and happiness of their country to be inseparably associated. To gratify his warm-hearted and generous visitors, and to attain a full view of the assembled group, Charles seated himself in a conspicuous part of the room where a repast had been laid out for him and his friends. Here, amid the congregated spectators who feasted their eyes with the sight of the lineal descendant of a race of kings, endeared to them by many sorrowful recollections, the prince partook of the fare provided by his kind host, with a cheerfulness which banished all reflection of the past or care for the future. At the conclusion of the repast, Charles drank the grace-drink in English, which, of course, was understood only by a few of the persons present. The guest, to whom we are indebted for this account, says, that when his turn came to propose a toast, wishing to distinguish himself, he gave “the king’s health” in Gaelic in an audible voice,--“Deoch slaint an Righ.” When the prince was informed that his father’s health had been drunk, he requested the gentleman who had proposed it to pronounce the words again in Gaelic, that he might repeat them himself. This being done, Charles repeated the words, and understanding that the proposer was skilful in Gaelic, the prince intimated to him that he would henceforth take instructions from him in that language. The same individual, afterwards, by desire, gave also the healths of the prince, and his brother “the duke,” in Gaelic.[828] Such condescension and familiarity on the part of Charles were highly gratifying to the feelings of all present, and were better calculated to secure the affections of the unsophisticated people, into whose arms he had thrown himself, than all the pomp and circumstance of regal splendour.

Though the extreme rashness of young Clanranald and his friends, in thus exposing themselves to almost inevitable destruction, be quite inexcusable on the score of sober reason, yet it is impossible not to admire the daring intrepidity of the men, who, at the call of a friendless and unprotected youth, could commit themselves in a struggle with the government even before they had ascertained that a single clan, except their own, would join. Their devotedness to the cause of the Stuarts did not blind them, however, to the dangers to which they were about to expose themselves by declaring for the prince; but having now thrown away the scabbard, they resolved to cling to the cause which a feeling of fidelity prompted them to espouse, reckless of the consequences. “All may judge (says a gentleman of the clan), how hazardous an enterprise we were now engaged in, being for some time quite alone; but we resolved, notwithstanding, to follow our prince, and risk our fate with his.”[829]

Charles, before landing, had despatched messengers to several of the chiefs who were favourably disposed. From Borodale he again sent off fresh messengers to all the chiefs from whom he expected assistance, requiring their attendance. Some of his friends, aware of his arrival, had, it is said, already held a meeting to consult as to the course they should pursue; at which Macdonald of Keppoch had given his opinion, that as the prince had risked his person, and generously thrown himself into the hands of his friends, they were bound, in duty at least, to raise men instantly for the protection of his person, whatever might be the consequences;[830] but it does not appear that any such resolution was at that time adopted.

The person pitched upon to visit Lochiel on this occasion, was Macdonald, younger of Scothouse, who succeeded in inducing that chief to visit the prince at Borodale, but he went with a determination not to take up arms. On his way to Borodale he called at the house of his brother, John Cameron of Fassefern, who, on being told the object of his journey, advised Lochiel not to proceed, as he was afraid that the prince would prevail upon him to forego his resolution.[831] Lochiel, firm in his determination, as he imagined, told his brother that his reasons for declining to join the prince were too strong to be overcome, and pursued his journey.

Donald Cameron of Lochiel, on whose final determination the question of a civil war was now to depend, (for it seems to be universally admitted, that if Lochiel had declined to take up arms the other chiefs would have also refused,) though called young Lochiel by the Highlanders, from his father being still alive, was rather advanced in life. His father, for the share he had taken in the insurrection of 1715, was attainted and in exile. In consequence of the attainder, young Lochiel had succeeded to the family estates upon the death of his grandfather, Sir Ewen Cameron, in 1719. Sir Ewen, the reader knows, had served with distinction under Montrose and Dundee, and his son and grandson had inherited from the old warrior a devoted attachment to the house of Stuart, which no change of circumstances had been ever able to eradicate. The Chevalier de St. George, sensible of the inflexible integrity of the young chief, and of the great influence which he enjoyed among his countrymen on account of the uprightness of his character, and as being at the head of one of the most powerful of the clans, had invested him with full powers to negotiate with his friends in Scotland, on the subject of his restoration.[832] Knowing the confidence which was so deservedly reposed in him, he was consulted on all occasions by the Jacobites in the Highlands, and, as has been elsewhere observed, was one of the seven who, in the year 1740, signed the bond of association to restore the Chevalier. Upon the failure of the expedition of 1743, young Lochiel had urged the prince to continue his exertions to get another fitted out; but he was averse to any attempts being made without foreign assistance, and cautioned the prince accordingly.[833]

Among the chiefs who were summoned to Borodale, Lochiel was the first to appear, and he immediately had a private interview with the prince. Charles told him that he meant to be quite candid, and to conceal nothing; he reprobated in severe terms the conduct of the French ministry, who, he averred, had long amused him with fair promises, and had at last deceived him. He admitted that he had but a small quantity of arms, and very little money; that he had left France without concerting anything, or even taking leave of the French court,--that he had, however, before leaving, written to the French king and his ministers soliciting succours, which he was persuaded they would send as soon as they saw that he really had a party in Scotland,--that he had appointed Earl Marischal his agent at the court of France,--and that he depended much upon the zeal and abilities of that nobleman, who would himself superintend the embarkation of the succours he was soliciting.

While Lochiel admitted the engagements which he and other chiefs had come under to support the cause, he observed that they were binding only in the event of the stipulated aid being furnished; and as his royal highness had come over without such support, they were released from the engagements they had contracted. He therefore reiterated his resolution not to join in the present hopeless attempt, and advised his royal highness to return to France and await a more favourable opportunity. Charles, on the other hand, maintained, that an opportunity more favourable than the present might never occur again,--that, with the exception of a very few newly raised regiments, all the British troops were occupied abroad. He represented, that the regular troops now in the kingdom were insufficient to withstand the body of Highlanders his friends could bring into the field; and he stated his belief, that if in the outset he obtained an advantage over the government forces, the country in general would declare in his favour, and his friends abroad would at once aid him,--that every thing, in fact, now depended upon the Highlanders,--and that to accomplish the restoration of his father, it was only necessary that they should instantly declare themselves and begin the war.

These arguments, which, as the result showed, were more plausible than solid, had no effect upon Lochiel, who continued to resist all the entreaties of Charles to induce him to alter his resolution. Finding the prince utterly averse to the proposal made to him to return to France, Lochiel entreated him to be more moderate in his views. He then suggested, that Charles should send his attendants back to France; that he himself should remain concealed in the country; that a report should be circulated that he also had returned to France, and that the court of France should be made acquainted with the state of matters, and informed that his friends would be ready to take up arms upon the first notice of a landing, but that nothing could be done without foreign support. Charles, however, rejected this proposal also, and told Lochiel, that the court of France would never be convinced that he had a considerable party in Scotland, till there was an actual insurrection, without which he was afraid they would not venture their troops.

As a last shift, Lochiel suggested, that Charles should remain at Borodale till he and other friends should hold a meeting, and concert what was best to be done. With an impatience which spurned delay, Charles would not even listen to the proposal, and declared his firm determination to take the field, however small the number of his attendants might be. “In a few days,” said he, “with the few friends that I have, I will erect the royal standard, and proclaim to the people of Britain, that Charles Stuart is come over to claim the crown of his ancestors--to win it, or to perish in the attempt: Lochiel, whom my father has often told me, was our firmest friend, may stay at home, and from the newspapers, learn the fate of his prince.” This appeal was irresistible. “No!” exclaimed Lochiel, “I’ll share the fate of my prince; and so shall every man over whom nature or fortune has given me any power.”[834]

Having extorted an acquiescence from Lochiel, who, impelled by a mistaken but chivalrous sense of honour, thus yielded to the prince’s entreaties in spite of his own better judgment, Charles resolved to raise his standard at Glenfinnan on the 19th of August. Accordingly, he despatched letters from Borodale on the 6th, to the various chiefs who were favourably disposed, informing them of his intention, and requiring the presence of them and their followers at Glenfinnan on the day appointed, or as soon thereafter as possible. Lochiel, at the same time, returned to his own house, whence he despatched messengers to the leading gentlemen of his clan to raise their men, and to hold themselves in readiness to march with him to Glenfinnan.

After sending off his messengers, Charles left Borodale for the house of Kinlochmoidart, about seven miles from Borodale, whither he and his suite had been invited by the proprietor to spend a few days, while the preparations for the appointed meeting were going on. Charles and his party went by sea, and their baggage and some artillery were forwarded by the same conveyance; but the body-guard, which had been provided by Clanranald, proceeded by land along the heads of two intervening bays. While at the hospitable mansion of his friend, Charles expressed his sense of the services of Kinlochmoidart in the warmest terms, offered him a colonel’s commission in a regiment of dragoons, and promised him a peerage.[835]

During Charles’s stay at Kinlochmoidart, the arming of the Highlanders went on with extraordinary alacrity; and several days before the prince’s departure for Glenfinnan, detached parties of armed Highlanders were to be seen perambulating the country in different directions. Though three weeks had elapsed since the arrival of the prince, and although Kinlochmoidart was only about thirty miles from Fort William, yet so effectually had his arrival been concealed from the officers of the government in the Highlands, that it was not until they received intelligence of these movements, that they began even to suspect his arrival. Alarmed by reports which reached him for the safety of Fort William, around which Lochiel and Keppoch were assembling their men, the governor of Fort Augustus despatched, on the 16th of August, two companies of the second battalion of the Scots Royals, under the command of Captain (afterwards General) Scott, to reinforce that garrison; but they did not reach their destination, having been taken prisoners by a party of Lochiel’s and Keppoch’s men. As this occurrence may be regarded as the commencement of hostilities, and as it is strongly characteristic of the ardour with which the Highlanders took the field at the command of their chiefs, the details of it may not here be considered as out of place.

At the period in question, as well as at the time of the previous insurrection of 1715, the country between Fort William and Inverness was inhabited altogether by disaffected clans; mainly to overawe whom, the chain of forts, namely, Fort William, Fort Augustus, and Fort George, which reach across the Highlands from the east to the west sea, was placed. In the centre of these, or almost equidistant between Fort William and Fort George, stands Fort Augustus, the distance between which and Fort William is twenty-eight miles. To keep up a regular communication between the garrisons of the two last mentioned forts, a road, as we have seen, was made by order of the government along the sides of the mountains which skirt the narrow lakes, which now form part of the bed of the Caledonian canal. It was along this road that the detachment in question marched. That they might reach Fort William the same day--there being no place on the road where so many men could have taken up their quarters during night--they left Fort Augustus early in the morning of the 16th of August, and met with no interruption till they arrived at High Bridge, within eight miles of Fort William. This bridge, which consists of one arch of great height, is built across the river Spean,--a mountain torrent confined between high and steep banks. On approaching the bridge the ears of the party were saluted by the sound of a bagpipe,--a circumstance which could excite little surprise in the Highlands; but when they observed a body of Highlanders on the other side of the bridge with swords and firelocks in their hands, the party became alarmed.

The Highlanders who had posted themselves at the bridge, were of Keppoch’s clan, and were under the command of Macdonald of Tierndriech; and though they did not consist of more than eleven or twelve persons, yet by leaping and skipping about, moving from place to place, and extending their plaids between one another to give themselves a formidable appearance, they impressed Captain Scott with an idea that they were a pretty numerous body. He therefore halted his men, and sent forward a sergeant with his own servant towards the bridge to reconnoitre; but when they came near the bridge they were seized and carried across by two nimble Highlanders, who unexpectedly darted upon them. Seeing the fate of his messengers, knowing that he was in a disaffected district, and ignorant of the strength of the Highlanders, Captain Scott deemed it more advisable to retreat than risk an encounter. He, therefore, ordered his men to face about, and return by the road they had come. Tierndriech had for some time observed the march of these troops, and had sent expresses to Lochiel and Keppoch, whose houses were within three or four miles of High Bridge, announcing their advance, and demanding assistance. Expecting immediate aid, and not wishing to display his weakness, which, from the openness of the ground near the bridge, would have been easily discernible, he did not follow Scott immediately, but kept at a distance till the troops had passed the west end of Loch Lochy, and were upon the narrow road between the lake and the mountain. The Highlanders thereupon made their appearance, and ascending the craggy eminences which overhang the road, and, sheltering themselves among the rocks and trees, began to fire down upon the retreating party, who, in place of returning the fire, accelerated their pace.

Before this fire had been opened, bands of Highlanders were proceeding in the direction of the bridge to assist in the attack. Upon hearing the report of the fire-arms, these hastened to the place whence the firing proceeded, and in a short time a considerable body joined the party under Tierndriech. Captain Scott continued his march rapidly along the loch, and when he reached the east end, he observed some Highlanders on a hill at the west end of Loch Oich, where they had assembled apparently for the purpose of intercepting him on his retreat. Disliking the appearance of this body, which stood in the direct way of his retreat, Scott resolved to throw himself for protection into Invergary castle, the seat of Macdonell of Glengarry, and accordingly crossed the isthmus between the two lakes. This movement, however, only rendered his situation more embarrassing, as he had not marched far when he perceived another body of Highlanders, the Macdonells of Glengarry, coming down the opposite hill to attack him. In this dilemma he formed his men into a hollow square, and proceeded on his march. Meanwhile, Tierndriech having been reinforced by a party of Keppoch’s men, headed by the chief, hastened the pursuit, and soon came up with the fugitives. To spare the effusion of blood, Keppoch advanced alone to Scott’s party, required them to surrender, and offered them quarters; but assured them, that, in case of resistance, they would be cut to pieces. Fatigued with a long march, and surrounded on all sides by increasing bodies of Highlanders, Captain Scott, who had been wounded, and had had two of his men killed, accepted the terms offered, and surrendered. This affair was scarcely over, when Lochiel arrived on the spot with a party of Camerons, and took charge of the prisoners, whom he carried to his own house at Achnacarie. The result of this singular rencounter, in which the Highlanders did not lose a single man, was hailed by them as the harbinger of certain success, and they required no farther inducement to prosecute the war thus auspiciously begun, as they imagined.[836]

Charles, to whom it may be supposed intelligence of this affair was instantly sent, left Kinlochmoidart on the 18th of August, on which day he went by water to the seat of Alexander Macdonald of Glenalladale, on the side of Loch Shiel, where he was joined by Gordon of Glenbucket, who brought with him Captain Sweetenham, an English officer of Guise’s regiment, who had been taken prisoner by a party of Keppoch’s men while on his way to Fort William to inspect that fortress. The prince passed the night at Glenalladale, and with his attendants, who amounted to about 25 persons, proceeded about six o’clock next morning, in three boats, to Glenfinnan, and landed within a few hours at the east end of Loch Shiel, where the little river Finnan falls into the lake.

WITH MONUMENT ON SPOT WHERE PRINCE CHARLES EDWARD FIRST RAISED HIS STANDARD 18^{TH}. AUG^T. 1746.

A. Fullarton & C^o. London & Edinburgh.]

Glenfinnan, the place appointed for the rendezvous, is a narrow vale bounded on both sides by high and rocky mountains, between which the river Finnan runs. This glen forms the inlet from Moidart into Lochaber, and at its gorge is about fifteen miles west from Fort William. On landing, the prince was received by the laird of Morar at the head of 150 men, with whom he marched to Glenfinnan, where he arrived about eleven o’clock. Charles, of course, expected to find a large “gathering of the clans” in the vale awaiting his approach; but, to his great surprise, not a human being was to be seen throughout the whole extent of the lonely glen, except the solitary inhabitants of the few huts which formed the hamlet. Chagrined and disappointed, Charles entered one of these hovels to ruminate over the supposed causes which might have retarded the assembling of his friends. After waiting about two hours in anxious suspense, he was relieved from his solicitude by the distant sound of a bagpipe, which broke upon his ear, and by its gradual increase, it soon became evident that a party was coming in the direction of the glen. While all eyes were turned towards the point whence the sound proceeded, a dark mass was seen overtopping the hill and descending its side. This was the clan Cameron, amounting to between 700 and 800 men, with Lochiel, their chief, at their head. They advanced in two columns, of three men deep each, with the prisoners who were taken in the late scuffle between the lines.

If in the state of suspense in which he was kept after entering Glenfinnan, the spirits of Charles suffered a temporary depression, they soon recovered their wonted buoyancy when he beheld the gallant band which now stood before him. Without waiting, therefore, for the other clans who were expected to join, the prince at once resolved to raise his standard, and to declare open war against “the Elector of Hanover,” as George II. was called, “and his adherents.” The Marquis of Tullibardine, to whom, from his rank, was allotted the honour of unfurling the standard, took his station on a small knoll in the centre of the vale,[837] where, supported by two men, he displayed the banner, and proclaimed the Chevalier de St. George as king before the assembled host, who rent the air with their acclamations. The flag used upon this occasion was of silk, of a white, blue, and red texture, but without any motto. After proclamation, a commission from the Chevalier de St. George, appointing his son Prince Charles regent of these kingdoms, was read by the Marquis of Tullibardine.

The reading of this commission was succeeded by the following manifesto:--

“James VIII. by the Grace of God, King of Scotland, England,
France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c. To all our loving
subjects, of what degree or quality soever, greeting.

“Having always borne the most constant affection to our ancient
kingdom of Scotland, from whence we derive our royal origin, and
where our progenitors have swayed the sceptre with glory through
a longer succession of kings than any monarchy upon earth can at
this day boast of; we cannot but behold with the deepest concern the
miseries they suffer under a foreign usurpation, and the intolerable
burdens daily added to their yoke, which become yet more sensible to
us when we consider the constant zeal and affection the generality
of our subjects of that our ancient kingdom have expressed for us on
all occasions, and particularly when we had the satisfaction of being
ourselves amongst them.

“We see a nation always famous for valour, and highly esteemed by
the greatest of foreign potentates, reduced to the condition of
a province, under the specious pretence of an union with a more
powerful neighbour. In consequence of this pretended union, grievous
and unprecedented taxes have been laid on, and levied with severity
in spite of all the representations that could be made to the
contrary; and these have not failed to produce that poverty and decay
of trade which were easily foreseen to be the necessary consequences
of such oppressive measures.

“To prevent the just resentment which could not but arise from
such usage, our faithful Highlanders, a people always trained up
and inured to arms, have been deprived of them; forts and citadels
have been built and garrisoned where no foreign invasion could
be apprehended, and a military government has been effectually
introduced, as into a conquered country. It is easy to foresee
what must be the consequences of such violent and unprecedented
proceedings, if a timely remedy be not put to them; neither is it
less manifest that such a remedy can ever be obtained but by our
restoration to the throne of our ancestors, into whose royal heart
such destructive maxims could never find admittance.

“We think it needless to call to mind how solicitous we have ever
been, and how often we have ventured our royal person, to compass
this great end; which the Divine Providence seems now to have
furnished us with the means of doing effectually by enabling our
good subjects in England to shake off the yoke, under which they
have likewise felt their share of the common calamities. Our former
experience leaves us no room to doubt of the cheerful and hearty
concurrence of our Scots subjects on this occasion, towards the
perfecting the great and glorious work; but that none may be deterred
by the memory of past miscarriages from returning to their duty, and
being restored to the happiness they formerly enjoyed, we in this
public manner think fit to make known our gracious intentions towards
all our people.

“We do therefore, by this our royal declaration, absolutely and
effectually pardon and remit all treasons, and other crimes hitherto
committed against our royal father, or ourselves. From the benefit of
which pardon we except none, but such as shall, after the publication
hereof, wilfully and maliciously oppose us, or those who shall appear
or endeavour to appear in arms for our service.

“We farther declare that we will with all convenient speed call
a free parliament; that by the advice and assistance of such an
assembly, we may be enabled to repair the breaches caused by so long
an usurpation, to redress all grievances, and to free our people from
the unsupportable burden of the malt-tax, and all other hardships
and impositions which have been the consequences of the pretended
union; that so the nation may be restored to that honour, liberty,
and independency, which it formerly enjoyed.