Chapter XXXII: A.d. 1715 (2)

The last days of October were occupied in making the necessary arrangements for the march of the Highland army; preparatory to which, orders were issued, near the end of that month, to call in the different parties which were posted at Newhaven, Leith, and other places in the vicinity of Edinburgh. The army which, for three weeks after the battle of Preston had lain in camp at Duddingston, had, since the middle of October, been quartered in and around the city; but on the 26th of that month the main body left Edinburgh, and encamped on a field a little to the west of Inveresk church, with a battery of seven or eight pieces of cannon pointing to the south-west.[979] Hitherto Charles, to conceal his weakness, had reviewed his army in detached portions; but he now ordered a general review of his whole force on the 28th of October. The place appointed was Leith links; but being warned by a few bombs which were thrown from the castle as the army was approaching the ground, that he might expect some annoyance, Charles abandoned his intention, and reviewed his army on the sands between Leith and Musselburgh.[980]

Of the deportment of Charles, and the mode in which he spent his time during his abode at Holyrood house, it may now be necessary to say a few words. It has been already stated on the authority of an officer in his army, whose memoirs are quoted by Mr. Home, that before the meeting of his council, Charles held a levee. The same writer adds, that after the rising of the council, which generally sat very long, he dined in public with his principal officers, and that while the army lay at Duddingston he rode out there after dinner, accompanied by his life-guards.[981] The object of these visits was to keep the Highlanders together; and to show them that the change of circumstances had not altered his disposition towards them, he frequently supped and slept in the camp.[982]

Another writer, an eye-witness,[983] says that “the prince’s court at Holyrood soon became very brilliant, and that every day from morning to night there was a vast concourse of well-dressed people. Besides the gentlemen that had joined the prince, there was a great number of ladies and gentlemen who came either from affection or curiosity. People flocked from all quarters to see the novelty of a court which had not been held in Scotland for sixty years, and from its splendour, and the air of satisfaction which appeared in every person’s countenance, one would have thought the king was already restored, and in peaceable possession of all the dominions of his ancestors, and that the prince had only made a trip to Scotland to show himself to the people, and receive their homage.” The conduct of Charles corresponded in all respects with the attentions shown him. He professed the warmest attachment to Scotland, and was often heard to say, that should he succeed in his attempt, he would make Scotland his Hanover, and Holyrood house his Herenhausen;[984] an expression by which he not only marked his devotion to the Scotch nation, but conveyed a severe rebuke upon King George, who was justly accused of an undue predilection for his native soil.

To mark his sense of the respect shown him, and to ingratiate himself still more with his new friends, Charles gave a series of balls and entertainments in the palace, which were attended by all the persons of rank and fashion assembled in the capital. On these occasions, the young Chevalier appeared sometimes in an English court-dress with the blue ribbon, star, and other insignia of the order of the garter, and at other times in a Highland dress of fine silk tartan, with crimson velvet breeches, and the cross of St. Andrew.[985] His politeness, affability, and condescension, were the theme of universal conversation. Captivated by the charms of his conversation, the graces of his person, and the unwearied attentions which he bestowed on them, the ladies entered warmly into the prince’s views; and their partizanship became so available to his cause as to attract, as we have seen, the especial attention of President Forbes. Indeed, so strong was the hold which the spirit of Jacobitism had taken of the hearts of the ladies of Edinburgh, that when afterwards overawed by the presence of an English army, they, nevertheless, continued to wear the Jacobite badge, and treated the approaches of the Duke of Cumberland’s officers with supercilious indifference. As Charles was almost wholly destitute of every household requisite, his female friends sent plate, china, linen, and other articles of domestic use to the palace.[986]

At the present stage of this history, it seems proper to record a manifesto which emanated from Charles’s army on the eve of its departure for England, which, as an historical document of considerable interest, shall be given entire. It was titled, “The declaration and admonitory letter of such of the nobility, gentry, and freeborn subjects of his majesty, as, under the auspicious conduct of his royal highness, Charles, prince of Wales, steward of Scotland, &c., have taken up arms in support of the cause of their king and country.” It was addressed “unto those who have not as yet declared their approbation of this enterprise; and to such as have, or may hereafter, appear in arms against it.”

“COUNTRYMEN AND FELLOW-SUBJECTS,--It is with abundance of regret,
and not without indignation, that we daily hear and see this
our undertaking, which in glory and disinterestedness may vie
with any to be met with, either in ancient or modern history,
traduced, misrepresented, and reviled in those fulsome addresses
and associations made to and in favours of the Elector of
Hanover, by those very bishops of the church of England, who,
for so many years, have contributed their utmost endeavours to
abet and support every measure the most unpopular, pernicious,
and hurtful, that the worst of ministers, be he of what party he
would, could ever devise for the undoing of these nations.

“Is it from such patterns of virtue and piety that the nation
now must take the alarm? Are we by these old bugbears of popery,
slavery, and tyranny, for ever to be hindered from pursuing our
only true interest? Or, is the groundless fear of an imaginary
evil to prevent our shaking off the heavy yoke we daily feel?

“What further security, in the name of God, can a people desire
for the enjoyment of their ecclesiastical rights? Have not both
the king and prince regent sworn in the most solemn manner
to maintain the protestant religion throughout his majesty’s
dominions? Nay, more, have they not promised to pass any laws
which shall be thought necessary for the further security of
it? Are we not protestants who now address you? And is it not
by the strength of a protestant army that he must mount the
throne? Can any man, or number of men, persuade you, that we,
who are your brethren, born in the same island, and who have the
same interest, do not love ourselves, our religion, laws and
liberties, as well as you do?

“What further security can the nature of the thing admit of?
You have your prince’s promises, and here you have laid before
you the sentiments of his army; who, having thankfully accepted
of them, are determined and resolved to set their country at
liberty, by establishing that glorious plan which has been freely
offered to us by the only rightful prince of the British nations;
and this must be done before we sheath our swords.

“Our enemies have represented us as men of low birth and of
desperate fortunes. We, who are now in arms, are, for the
greatest part, of the most ancient families of this island,
whose forefathers asserted the liberties of their country, long,
long before the names of many of our declaimers were ever heard
of. Our blood is good, and that our actions shall make appear.
If our fortunes be not great, our virtue has kept them low;
and desperate we may be truly called, for we are determined to
conquer or die.

“The justice, therefore, of the cause we now appear for, the
interest of the nation which we support and pursue, and the
glorious character of our royal leader, may each by itself, or
all together, abundantly convince the nation, that now at last
there appears an happy and unforeseen opportunity of acquiring
all those blessings which a distrest nation has been so long
wishing for in vain.

“This golden opportunity we have laid hold of; and in justice to
ourselves and fellow-subjects, are obliged thus to apprize them
of the uprightness of our intentions in carrying into execution
a scheme calculated and adapted to those principles of liberty
which the true lovers of their country have been polishing and
refining for these many years past.

“Perhaps you may find fault that you were not apprized of this
undertaking. No more were we. God has conducted, the prince of
Wales has executed; and we are thereby in possession of Scotland,
and victorious over one of the Elector’s armies, which nothing
could have saved from total destruction but the authority and
mercy of a young conqueror, possest of all the shining virtues
which can adorn a throne, and who may challenge the keenest enemy
of his royal family to impute to him a vice which can blacken
the character of a prince. Compare his clemency towards all
the prisoners and wounded at the battle of Gladsmuir, with the
executions, imprisonments, and banishments, exercised by the
German family after their success at Preston in the year 1715,
and your affections will tell you who is the true father of the
people.

“We have hitherto only spoke to your interests: when his royal
highness comes himself amongst you, let his appearance, his
moderation, his affability, his tenderness and affection for
those he can truly call his countrymen, speak to your passions;
then you who, at the instigation of your enemies, are now arming
for the defence, as you imagine, of your respective communities,
will be able to judge from whom you will have the best reason to
expect protection. Thus far we can take upon us to promise in his
highness’s name, that such as shall make no resistance to our
troops, though before our arrival they may have been levying war
against us, may nevertheless depend upon the most ample security
for their persons and estates, provided, by a timely surrender
of their arms, they put in our power to protect them against
the fury of the army: and how foolish will it be, after this
assurance, for any city, corporation, or county, to attempt to
make head against the combined force of a whole nation, collected
in a numerous army, and flushed with success? If any misfortune,
therefore, ensue from a disregard of this admonition, we of his
royal highness’s army declare ourselves free of all blame therein.

“It is time for you now, O countrymen! to lay aside all
animosities, all distinctions of families or names, and to
confine your thoughts only to the interest of these kingdoms,
connecting with them as you go along the sentiments you had a few
years ago.

“What transport of joy would the bulk of the British nation have
felt upon a certain remarkable and never-to-be-forgotten period
in our political history, (that great change of ministry which
happened not long ago, when the cries of a distressed people,
supported by the interest and influence of powerful, though
designing men, accomplished the ruin of a mighty minister,) how
great would have been your joy had you then had from the Elector
of Hanover such a declaration as that emitted the 10th of this
month by his royal highness, the heir and representative of our
natural and only rightful sovereign?

“Is it possible to conceive the universal satisfaction which such
a declaration would have occasioned, unless we judge of it by
our fatal disappointment?--We leave it to yourselves to make the
application. As it is not our intention here to set forth the
domestic grievances of the nation, nor the scandalous preference
showed upon all occasions to a pitiful foreign concern; for as
we address ourselves chiefly to the friends of liberty and the
constitution, we suppose you all abundantly instructed in them:
nor would it serve but to lengthen this letter, to enumerate
the many promises in the king’s and prince’s declarations
and manifestoes to his subjects upon this occasion; we have
abundantly explained our own motives for now appearing in arms,
and would willingly use a little serious expostulation with you,
gentlemen, who intend to oppose us.

“What then, in the name of God, do you propose to yourselves? Is
it also the interest of Great Britain and Ireland? Or, is it the
support of the Elector of Hanover’s family in the succession to
the crown of these realms? If your armaments proceed from the
first of these motives, tell us what a prince can do more to make
you a free and a happy people? What security can you have more
than his word and his army’s guarantee, until the nation shall
have time abundantly to secure themselves by parliament?

“If you be satisfied with the promises made you, and the security
of the performance, do you disapprove of this method of bringing
about the execution by force of arms? If you do, be so good as
suggest another equally efficacious.

“That by parliament, indeed, would have been universally the
most acceptable; but we cannot be so infatuated as to remain in
eternal bondage, unless a parliament, composed of hirelings,
should set us at liberty; nor have we any hopes that the Elector
will strip himself of that pecuniary influence by which alone he
has carried, over the bellies of the nation, every destructive
measure.

“On the other hand, if the dispute is to be whether the Stuart
or Hanoverian family shall reign over Great Britain, without
reference to the interest of the nation, we need use no other
argument than the sword with such as shall oppose us upon these
principles.

“To conclude, we desire to lay this important question before
you in a new light. Suppose, for it is only a supposition, that
this dreadful and unnatural rebellion, as you are taught to call
it, should be extinguished and quashed, and every man concerned
in it executed on a scaffold; your joy, no doubt, would be very
great upon so glorious an event; your addresses would then be
turned into thanksgivings,--your parliament would then meet and
cloath your beloved sovereign with new powers,--your standing
army, which has hitherto been looked upon as the bane of the
constitution, would then be consecrated as your deliverers; and
the reverend bishops of the church of England would be hailed
from the most distant corners of the island by the glorious
appellation of patriots and protectors of British liberty. O
happy, thrice happy nation, who have such an army and such a
bench of bishops ready upon this occasion to rescue them from
popery, and slavery, tyranny, and arbitrary power!

“When, indeed, the first transport of your joy would be
over,--for you are not to expect that these halcyon days are ever
to remain,--you might perhaps find, to your fatal experience,
that the constitution of your country was not in the least
improved; and upon the return of the unavoidable consequences
of those evils all along complained of, and which now you have
so fair an opportunity of having redressed, you would at last
be sensible that we were those who, in truth, deserved the
appellation of deliverers, patriots, and protectors of the
British liberty. But this last part of our letter is addressed
only to such as we expect to meet with in a field of battle, and
we are hopeful that those will prove but an inconsiderable part
of the nations of Great Britain and Ireland; and that you, our
countrymen and fellow-subjects, upon being advised and informed,
as you now have been, of the whole plan of this glorious
expedition, will cheerfully join issue with us, and share in the
glory of restoring our king and in setting our country free,
which, by the strength of our arm, the assistance of our allies,
and the blessing of Almighty God, we shortly expect to see
accomplished.”

Whilst the prince and his partizans were thus spreading the seeds of insurrection, and endeavouring to improve the advantages they had gained, the ministry of Great Britain, aroused to a just sense of the impending danger, took every possible measure to retard the progress of the insurrection. King George had returned to London on the 31st of August. He met with a cordial reception from the nobility and gentry in the capital, and loyal addresses were voted by all the principal cities, and towns and corporations in the kingdom. A demand was made upon the states-general for the 6,000 men stipulated by treaty, part of whom were landed at Berwick the day after Cope’s defeat. Three battalions of guards, and seven regiments of foot, were ordered home from Flanders, and a cabinet council was held at Kensington on the 13th of September, which directed letters to be sent to the lords-lieutenant and _custodes rotulorum_ of the counties of England and Wales to raise the militia. Marshal Wade was despatched to the north of England to take the command of the forces in that quarter, and two regiments, of 1,000 each, were ordered to be transported from Dublin to Chester. A number of blank commissions were, as has been before stated, sent to the north of Scotland to raise independent companies; the Earl of Loudon was despatched to Inverness to take the command, and two ships of war were sent down with arms to the same place.

As popery had been formerly a serviceable bugbear to alarm the people for their religion and liberties, some of the English bishops issued mandates to their clergy, enjoining them to instil into their people “a just abhorrence of popery” and of arbitrary power, both of which they supposed to be inseparably connected; a proceeding which formed a singular contrast with the conduct of their brethren, the Scottish protestant episcopal clergy, who to a man were zealously desirous of restoring the Stuarts. The clergy attended to the injunctions they had received, and their admonitions were not without effect. Associations were speedily formed in every county, city, and town in England, of any consideration, in defence of the religion and liberties of the nation, and all persons, of whatever rank or degree, seemed equally zealous to protect both.

The parliament met on the 17th of October, and was informed by his majesty that he had been obliged to call them together sooner than he intended, in consequence of an unnatural rebellion which had broken out, and was still continued in Scotland, to suppress and extinguish which rebellion he craved the immediate advice and assistance of the parliament. Both houses voted addresses, in which they gave his majesty the strongest assurances of duty and affection to his person and government, and promised to adopt measures commensurate with the danger. The _habeas corpus_ act was suspended for six months, and several persons were apprehended on suspicion. The Duke of Cumberland, the king’s second son, arrived from the Netherlands shortly after the opening of the session, and on the 25th of October a large detachment of cavalry and infantry arrived in the Thames from Flanders. The train-bands of London were reviewed by his majesty on the 28th; the county regiments were completed; and the persons who had associated themselves in different parts of the kingdom as volunteers, were daily engaged in the exercise of arms. Apprehensive of an invasion from France, the government appointed Admiral Vernon to command a squadron in the Downs, to watch the motions of the enemy by sea. Cruisers were stationed along the French coast, particularly off Dunkirk and Boulogne, which captured several ships destined for Scotland with officers, soldiers, and ammunition for the use of the insurgents.

The birth-day of George II., which fell on the 30th of October, was celebrated throughout the whole of England with extraordinary demonstrations of loyalty. Many extravagant scenes were enacted, which, though they may now appear ludicrous and absurd, were deemed by the actors as deeds of the purest and most exalted patriotism. In Scotland, however, with one remarkable exception, the supporters of government did not venture upon any public display. The exception alluded to was the town of Perth, some of whose inhabitants took possession of the church and steeple about mid-day, and rang the bells. Oliphant of Gask, who had been made deputy-governor of the town by the young Chevalier, and had under him a small party, sent to desire those who rang the bells to desist; but they refused to comply, and continued ringing at intervals until midnight, two hours after the ordinary time. Mr. Oliphant, with his small guard and three or four gentlemen, posted themselves in the council-house, in order to secure about 1,400 small arms, some ammunition, &c., belonging to the Highland army, deposited there and in the adjoining jail. At night seven north-country gentlemen, in the Jacobite interest, came to town with their servants, and immediately joined their friends in the council-house: when it grew dark the mob made bonfires in the streets, and ordered the inhabitants to illuminate their windows, an order which was generally obeyed, and the few that refused had their windows broken. About nine o’clock at night a party sallied from the council-house, and marching up the street to disperse the mob, fired upon and wounded three of them. The mob, exasperated by this attack, rushed in upon the party, and disarmed and wounded some of them. After this rencontre the mob placed guards at all the gates of the town, took possession of the main-guard and rung the fire-bell, by which they drew together about 200 people. They thereupon sent a message to Mr. Oliphant, requiring him to withdraw immediately from the town and yield up the arms, ammunition, &c. Mr. Oliphant having refused, they rang the fire-bell a second time, and hostilities commenced about two o’clock in the morning, and continued about three hours. The people fired at the council-house from the heads of lanes, from behind stairs, and from windows, so that the party within could not look out without the greatest hazard. About five o’clock the mob dispersed. An Irish captain in the French service was killed in the council-house, and three or four of Mr. Oliphant’s party were wounded. Of the mob, which was without a leader, four were wounded. To preserve order, about 60 of Lord Nairne’s men were brought into the town next day, and these were soon thereafter joined by about 130 Highlanders.[987]

FOOTNOTES:

[952] _Culloden Papers_, p. 250.

[953] Id., p. 227.

[954] Id., p. 426.

[955] Id., p. 253.

[956] _Culloden Papers_, p. 420.

[957] Kirkconnel MS.

[958] Id.

[959] _Memoirs_, p. 45.

[960] Home, p. 120.

[961] Appendix to Home’s _Rebellion_, No. xxviii.

[962] Home, p. 124.

[963] Marchant’s _History of the Rebellion_, p. 113.--Boyse, p. 91.

[964] Kirkconnel MS.

[965] Home, p. 127.

[966] Home, p. 327.

[967] Lovat’s Trial, p. 138.

[968] _Culloden Papers_, p. 250.

[969] _Culloden Papers_, p. 246.

[970] Idem.

[971] Idem, p. 404.

[972] The following is a list of the officers of eighteen of the independent companies, being the whole number raised, with the dates of the delivery of their commissions on the completion of their companies, and of their arrival at Inverness:--

_Captains._ _Lieutenants._ _Ensigns._ _Dates of completing
the companies, and
of their arrival
at Inverness._

1. George Monro, Adam Gordon, Hugh Monro, 1745, Oct. 23d.

2. Alexander Gun, John Gordon, Kenneth Sutherland, -- -- 25th.

3. Patrick Grant, William Grant, James Grant, -- Nov. 3d.

4. George Mackay, John Mackay, James Mackay, -- -- 4th.

5. Peter
Sutherland, William Mackay, John Mackay, -- -- 8th.

6. John Macleod, Alexander John Macaskill, -- -- 15th.
Macleod,

7. Normand Macleod
of Waterstein, Donald Macleod, John Macleod, -- -- --

8. Normand Macleod
of Bernera, John Campbell, John Macleod, -- -- --

9. Donald
Macdonald, William Macleod, Donald Macleod, -- -- --

10. William Kenneth
Mackintosh, Mathison, William Baillie, -- -- 18th.

11. Hugh Macleod, George Monro, Roderick Macleod, -- -- 28th.

12. Alexander
Mackenzie, John Mathison, Simon Murchison, -- Dec. 20th.

13. Colin Mackenzie Alexander
of Hilton, Campbell, John Macrae, -- -- --

14. James
Macdonald, Allan Macdonald, James Macdonald, -- -- 31st.

15. John Macdonald, Allan Macdonald, Donald Macdonald, -- -- --

16. Hugh Mackay, John Mackay, Angus Mackay, 1746, Jan. 6th.

17. William Ross, Charles Ross, David Ross, -- -- 8th.

18. Colin Donald
Mackenzie, Mackaulay, Kenneth Mackenzie, -- Feb. 2d.

_Culloden Papers._

1. The Monros.

2 and 5. The Earl of Sutherland’s men.

3. The Grants.

4 and 16. The Mackays.

6, 7, 8, and 9. The Macleods, under the laird of Macleod.

10. A company raised in the town of Inverness.

11. The Macleods of Assint, raised by Captain Macleod of Geanies.

12 and 13. The Mackenzies of Kintail.

14 and 15. The Macdonalds of Skye.

17. The Rosses.

18. The Mackenzies of Lewis.

[973] _Caledonian Mercury_, 11th October, 1745.

[974] _Culloden Papers_, pp. 231-254.

[975] _Kirkconnel MS._

[976] Maxwell of Kirkconnel had a very sorry opinion of the capabilities of most of the members of the council. After stating, that by degrees all the colonels of the army were admitted into it, he thus proceeds:--“I must acknowledge that very few of the members of this assembly were either able statesmen or experienced officers; but as those who knew least were generally led by the opinions of those they thought wiser than themselves, and they in their turn had private conferences with the ablest of the prince’s secret friends in Edinburgh, things might have been well enough conducted had there been as much harmony and union as the importance of the affair required; but an ill-timed emulation soon crept in, and bred great dissensions and animosities. The council was insensibly divided into factions, and came to be of little use when measures were approved of or condemned, not for themselves, but for the sake of their author. These dissensions, begun at Edinburgh, continued ever after, and their fatal influence was not always confined to the council: by degrees it reached the army; and though the prince’s orders were ever respected and punctually obeyed by the army, there were, nevertheless, a certain discontent and diffidence which appeared on sundry occasions, especially towards the end, and was very detrimental to his affairs.”--_Kirkconnel MS._

[977] Idem.

[978] Vide the report in the _Stuart Papers_, and a letter of 26th November, 1745, from Gordon to the Chevalier de St. George, inclosing a copy of his report.

[979] Marchant, p. 130.

[980] Boyse, p. 95.

[981] Home, p. 139.

[982] _Kirkconnel MS._

[983] Maxwell of Kirkconnel.

[984] Henderson, p. 92.

[985] Boyse, p. 89.

[986] Idem.

[987] Adamson’s _Muses Threnodie_, Perth ed. of 1774. Appendix, No. 2, p. 165.