Chapter XXXIII: A.d. 1745 (1)

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

Plan of the march of the rebels into England--Composition of the
Highland army--Highland mode of fighting--March of Prince Charles
into England--Siege and capture of Carlisle--Dissension in the
Prince’s council--Resignation of Lord George Murray--Proceedings
of Marshal Wade--The Highland army marches south--Arrives
at Manchester--The Manchester regiment--Rebels march to
Derby--Consternation at London--Charles’s council resolve to
retreat--Charles desires to proceed to London--Overruled--The
Chevalier’s agents in France--French expedition under Lord John
Drummond--His arrival and proceedings--Retreat of the Highland
army to Scotland--Skirmish at Clifton--Recapture of Carlisle.

When Charles’s resolution to march into England was finally agreed to by his officers, the next thing to be determined was the route to be taken. After some deliberation the council advised the Prince to march straight to Berwick, of which town they thought he could easily make himself master, and thence to Newcastle and give battle to Marshal Wade, who had collected a force in the neighbourhood of that town. If victorious, the prince was to march to London by the east coast, so as to favour the disembarkation of any troops that France might send over destined to land on that coast. But this plan, though unanimously approved of, was overturned by Lord George Murray, who was of a very different opinion from the rest of the council. In presence of several of the principal officers of the army he represented the plan of a march along the east coast as an affair of great difficulty, and that its advantages, if it really had any, would be more than compensated by the loss of time it would occasion, which at the present juncture was very precious. He therefore proposed that the army should march into England by the western road, and that to conceal its route it should march in two columns, one by Kelso and the other column by Moffat, so that both columns could easily join near Carlisle, on a day to be appointed. Finding that Lord George’s arguments had prevailed with most of the officers, Charles agreed to his scheme, though he considered the route by Berwick as the better of the two.[988]

Preparatory to their march the insurgents removed their camp to a strong position to the west of Dalkeith, six miles south of Edinburgh, having that town on their left, the South Esk in front, the North Esk in their rear, with an opening on their right towards Polton. From this camp a detachment was sent with three pieces of cannon to secure the pass of the Forth above Stirling, lest Lord Loudon should march south with the independent companies he was forming, and attempt to force the passage.[989]

On the evening of Thursday the 31st of October, Prince Charles finally left Holyrood House accompanied by his life-guards, and several of the clan-regiments, amid the regrets of a vast concourse of spectators, most of whom were never to see him again. He slept that night at Pinkie House, and went next morning to Dalkeith, and took up his quarters in Dalkeith House, the seat of the Duke of Buccleuch. On that day he was joined by the clan Pherson, under the command of their chief, Macpherson of Cluny, by Menzies of Shien and his men, and some small parties of Highlanders, amounting altogether to between 900 and 1,000 men.

At this period the state of the insurgent army was as follows. Of cavalry, the first troop of horse-guards, which was commanded by Lord Elcho, consisted of 62 gentlemen with their servants, under 5 officers. It amounted in all to 120. The second troop, which was commanded by the honourable Arthur Elphinstone, afterwards Lord Balmerino, was not complete, and did not exceed 40 horse. A small squadron, called the horse-grenadiers, was commanded by the Earl of Kilmarnock, with which were incorporated some Perthshire gentlemen, in absence of Lord Strathallan their commander, who had been appointed governor of Perth and commander of the Jacobite forces in Scotland during the stay of the Highland army in England. These last united, amounted to nearly 100. Lord Pitsligo was at the head of the Aberdeen and Banffshire gentlemen, who, with their servants, amounted to about 120; and besides those enumerated, there was a party of between 70 and 80 hussars, under the nominal command of Secretary Murray as colonel, but in reality under the direction of one Baggot, an Irish officer, who had lately arrived from France. The infantry, all of whom wore the Highland garb, consisted of thirteen battalions or regiments, six of which consisted of the clans, properly so called; of these six regiments, three were of the Macdonalds, and the other three were each composed of the Camerons, the Stewarts of Appin, and the Macphersons. Three regiments of Athole men, commonly called the Athole brigade, the regiments of the Duke of Perth, Lord Ogilvy, Glenbucket, and Roy Stewart, made up the thirteen regiments.[990] Of the infantry, which amounted to about 5,000 men, about 4,000 were real Highlanders. Thus the total amount of the army did not exceed 6,000 men.[991]

The clan-regiments, according to custom, were commanded by their respective chiefs; but in some instances, in the absence of the chief, the regiment of the clan was commanded by his son, and failing both, by the nearest kinsman of the chief. In these regiments every company had two captains, two lieutenants, and two ensigns, all of whom were generally related, by ties of blood, to the chief. The pay of a captain in the army was half-a-crown _per diem_; that of a lieutenant two shillings; and of an ensign one shilling and sixpence. The front rank of each clan-regiment was composed of persons who were considered gentlemen by birth, though without fortune or means. The pay of these was one shilling _per diem_. The gentlemen in the front rank were better armed than the men in the rear rank. All the former had targets, which many of the latter had not. When fully armed, as was generally the case, every gentleman of the front rank carried a musket and broadsword, with a pair of pistols and a dirk stuck in the belt which surrounded his body. In some rare instances another dagger was stuck within the garter of the right leg, to be used in cases of emergency. A target, formed of wood and leather thickly studded with nails, covered the left arm, and enabled the wearer to parry and protect himself from the shots or blows of an assailant.

Thus armed, the success of a Highland army depended more upon individual bravery than upon combined efforts, and their manner of fighting was, as the Chevalier Johnstone observes, adapted for brave but undisciplined troops. “They advance,” says that writer, “with rapidity, discharge their pieces when within musket length of the enemy, and then, throwing them down, draw their swords, and holding a dirk in their left hand with their target, they dart with fury on the enemy through the smoke of their fire. When within reach of the enemy’s bayonets, bending their left knee, they, by their attitude, cover their bodies with their targets that receive their thrusts of the bayonets, which they contrive to parry, while at the same time they raise their sword-arm, and strike their adversary. Having once got within the bayonets, and into the ranks of the enemy, the soldiers have no longer any means of defending themselves, the fate of the battle is decided in an instant, and the carnage follows; the Highlanders bringing down two men at a time, one with their dirk in the left hand, and another with the sword. The reason assigned by the Highlanders for their custom of throwing their muskets on the ground is not without its force. They say they embarrass them in their operations, even when slung behind them, and on gaining a battle they can pick them up along with the arms of their enemies; but if they should be beaten, they have no occasion for muskets. They themselves proved that bravery may supply the place of discipline at times, as discipline supplies the place of bravery. The attack is so terrible, that the best troops in Europe would with difficulty sustain the first shock of it; and if the swords of the Highlanders once come in contact with them, their defeat is inevitable.”[992]

In entering upon such a desperate enterprise as the invasion of England with the handful of men he had mustered, Charles certainly must have calculated on being supported by a large party in that country. Indeed, his chief reason for urging such a step was the numerous assurances he alleged he had received from his friends in that kingdom, that he would be joined by a very considerable body of the people; but there seems reason to believe, that, in his expectations of support, he was guided almost solely by the reports of his agents, and that he had very little communication with any of the parties on whose support he relied.[993] In a memoir[994] which the prince presented to the King of France on his return from Scotland, he states, that, if after the battle of Preston he had had 3,000 regular troops under his command, in addition to his other forces, he could have penetrated into England, and marched to London, without opposition, as none of the English troops which were on the continent had arrived; but the case was now widely different, and without a general rising, it was next to impossible to succeed in the face of a large regular army, which was assembling at different points, supported by a numerous militia.

Pursuant to the plan of Lord George Murray, the advanced guard of the first division of the army left Dalkeith on the evening of Friday the 1st of November, and took the road to Peebles. The main body, consisting of the Athole brigade, the Duke of Perth’s regiment, the regiments of Lord Ogilvy, Glenbucket, and Roy Stewart, and the greater part of the horse followed next day. The artillery and baggage were sent along with this column. This division was under the command of the Marquis of Tullibardine. The second division, which consisted of the life-guards and the clan regiments, headed by the prince in person, marched from Dalkeith on the 3d of November in the direction of Kelso. The guards formed the van, and the prince marched on foot at the head of the clans with his target over his shoulder. It was supposed that he would have mounted his horse after proceeding a mile or two; but, to the surprise of every person, he marched on foot the whole day, and continued the same practice during the whole of the expedition, wading through mud and snow, and it was with difficulty that he could be prevailed upon to get on horseback, even to cross a river. The example he thus set to his men, joined to the condescension and affability he displayed, endeared him to the army. Charles arrived at Lauder the same night, and took up his residence in Thirlstane castle, the seat of the Earl of Lauderdale.

After despatching part of his men by a middle course towards Selkirk and Hawick, the prince next day marched to Kelso. As Marshal Wade was supposed to be on his way north from Newcastle, Charles sent his life-guards across the Tweed, not so much for the purpose of reconnoitring, as for amusing the enemy. After advancing several miles on the road to Newcastle, they halted at a village, and made some inquiries as to quarters and accommodation for the army, which they stated was on its march to Newcastle. Charles even sent orders to Wooler, a town on the road to Newcastle, to provide quarters for his army. The design was to keep Wade in suspense, and draw off his attention from the movements of the Highland army upon Carlisle. While at Kelso, Charles sent a party of between 30 and 40 men across the Tweed, to proclaim his father upon English ground. Having performed the ceremony, they returned to Kelso.[995] The prince remained at Kelso till the 6th of November, on the morning of which day he crossed the Tweed. The river was scarcely fordable, but the men were in high spirits, and when up to the middle in the water, they expressed the ardour they felt by setting up a loud shout and discharging their pieces.[996] After crossing the river, the prince turned to the left, and marched towards Jedburgh, where he arrived in a few hours.

As his next route lay through a dreary waste of considerable extent, he halted at Jedburgh for the night, to refresh his men, and departed early next morning. Marching up Rule water, Charles led his men into Liddisdale over the _Knot o’ the Gate_, and after a fatiguing march of about twenty-five miles, arrived at Haggiehaugh upon Liddel water, where he slept. Charles marched down Liddel water on the following day, being Friday the 8th of November, and entered England in the evening. When crossing the border, the Highlanders drew their swords, and gave a hearty huzza; but a damp came over their spirits, on learning that Lochiel had cut his hand in the act of unsheathing his sword, an occurrence which the Highlanders superstitiously regarded as a bad omen.[997] Charles lay at Reddings in Cumberland that night. The division belonging to the prince’s column, consisting of horse, which had taken the middle route by Hawick and Langholm, reached Longtown the same day.

While the eastern division was thus moving in a circuitous direction to the appointed place of rendezvous near Carlisle, the western column, which started on the road to Peebles, was following a more direct route, by Moffat and down Annandale. This division entered England near Longtown. On the 9th of November, Charles marched with his division to Rowcliff, four miles below Carlisle, where he crossed the river Eden, and quartered his men in the villages on the west side of the city. In the afternoon, Charles was joined by the greater part of the other division, under the Marquis of Tullibardine. This march was judiciously planned, and was executed with such precision, that scarcely two hours elapsed between the arrival of the two main divisions at the appointed place of rendezvous. The march, according to the Chevalier Johnstone, resembled on a small scale that of Marshal Saxe, a few years before, when he advanced to lay siege to Maestricht.

The plan for deceiving Marshal Wade succeeded so well, that that commander, who had now an army of 11,000 men under him, had no idea that the Highland army was marching on Carlisle, and accordingly directed his whole attention to the protection of Newcastle. Such was the secrecy with which the motions of the army were conducted, that, with the exception of Charles and his principal officers, no person knew its real destination.[998] On arriving in the neighbourhood of Carlisle, desertion had diminished the prince’s army by some hundreds.

The city of Carlisle, the capital of Cumberland, had formerly been a place of great strength, and had, during the wars between England and Scotland, been considered one of the keys of England on the side of the latter; but since the union of the crowns, its fortifications had been allowed to fall into decay. It was surrounded by walls flanked with towers, and a fosse or ditch. The city was protected by a castle on the north-west, supposed to be as old as the time of William Rufus, and by a citadel on the south-east, erected in the reign of Henry the Eighth. The castle, on the present occasion, was well furnished with artillery, and was garrisoned by a company of invalids; but, like the city, its fortifications were not in good repair. To aid the inhabitants in defending the city, the whole militia of Cumberland and Westmoreland had been assembled within its walls.

When approaching the city on the 9th, a party of the prince’s horse advanced to Stanwix Bank, a small hill near Carlisle, to reconnoitre; but they were forced to retire by a few shots from the castle. The whole of the army having passed the Eden next day, Charles proceeded to invest the city on all sides. One of his parties, in marching round from the Irish to the English gate, was fired upon both from the castle and the town, but did not sustain any loss. Having completed the investment, the prince, about noon, sent a letter to the mayor of the city, requiring him to open its gates, and allow the army to enter in a peaceable manner; promising, in case of compliance, to protect the city from insult, but threatening an assault in the event of a refusal. The prince stated, that should an assault be made, he might not have it in his power to prevent the dreadful consequences which usually befall a city captured in that way. An answer was required within two hours, but none was given, and a discharge of cannon from the besieged announced their determination to hold out. In consequence of this reception, the trenches were opened at night, under the orders of the Duke of Perth, at the distance of eighty yards from the walls. Mr. Grant, an Irish officer, of Lally’s regiment, who had lately arrived from France, and who was an experienced engineer, ably availing himself of some ditches, approached close to the city without suffering from the fire of the besieged. The artillery consisted of six Swedish field pieces, which had been received from France, and of the pieces which had been taken at Preston.[999]

Having received intelligence that Marshal Wade was advancing from Newcastle to relieve Carlisle, and that he had already arrived at Hexham, Charles resolved to meet him on some of the hilly grounds between Newcastle and Carlisle. Leaving, therefore, a sufficient force to blockade Carlisle, he departed with the remainder of the army on the morning of the 11th, and reached Warwick castle about ten o’clock. He then despatched Colonel Ker with a party of horse, in the direction of Hexham, to reconnoitre, and ordered his men to take up their quarters for the night. Ker having ascertained that the news of Wade’s march was false, returned to Brampton, and made his report. After waiting two days at Brampton without hearing any thing of Wade, a council of war was held, at which several opinions were offered. One opinion, in which Charles concurred, was that the army should advance to Newcastle, and give battle to Wade. Some of the council thought that this would be a dangerous step; for even were they to defeat the marshal, his army might take refuge in Newcastle, which it was vain for them to think of taking, as, besides the strength of the place, the army had lost many men upon its march. Others were for returning to Scotland till joined by a greater body of their friends; but Lord George Murray opposed all these views, and proposed, that while one part of the party should besiege and blockade Carlisle, the other should remain at Brampton. The Duke of Perth seconded this opinion, and offered to undertake the charge of the battery, if Lord George would take the command of the blockade. The council having all agreed to Lord George’s proposal, six of the Lowland regiments were sent to blockade the town, besides the Duke of Perth’s, which was to be employed on the battery.[1000]

Whilst the main body of the army was at Brampton, the party left before the city occupied themselves in cutting down wood in Corby and Warwick parks, with which they made scaling-ladders, fascines, and carriages. On the 13th, about noon, the regiments appointed for the blockade and siege of the city re-appeared before it. Lord George Murray took up his quarters at Harbery, and posted his men in the villages around the city to stop all communication with it. The besieging party broke ground in the evening within musket-shot of the walls, about half-way between the English and Scotch gates.[1001] A constant firing was kept up from the city; but as these operations were carried on under cloud of night, the party in the trenches received no injury. Having completed their battery, the besiegers brought up their whole cannon, consisting of thirteen pieces, to play upon the town. Next morning the fire from the garrison was renewed, but with little effect, and the besiegers, instead of returning the fire, held up their bonnets on the end of their spades in derision.[1002]

Alarmed by the preparations of the Highlanders, and the state of affairs within the city, a meeting of the inhabitants was held, at which it was resolved to surrender the town. For seven days the garrison of the city, kept in constant alarm by the Highlanders, had scarcely enjoyed an hour’s continued repose; and while many of the men had, from illness, absolutely refused to assist any longer in the defence of the city, numbers were hourly leaving it clandestinely by slipping over the walls; so that in several cases the officers of some companies had not more than three or four men left. In this state of matters the only alternative was a surrender; and as a crisis appeared to be at hand, a white flag was exhibited from the walls, and a messenger despatched to the Duke of Perth to request terms. His Grace sent an express to Brampton to know the prince’s pleasure; but his Royal Highness refused to grant any terms to the city unless the castle surrendered at the same time. At the request of the mayor, a cessation of arms was granted till next day; but before the time expired, Colonel Durand, the commander of the castle, agreed to surrender the fortress along with the town. The conditions were, that the liberties and properties of the inhabitants, and all the privileges of the town, should be preserved inviolate;--that both garrisons, on taking an oath not to serve against the house of Stuart for one year, should be allowed to retire,--and that all the arms and ammunition in the castle and the city, and all the horses belonging to the militia, should be delivered up to the prince. This capitulation was signed by the Duke of Perth and Colonel Durand on the night of the 14th.[1003]

Next morning at ten o’clock the Duke of Perth entered the city at the head of his regiment, and was followed by the other regiments at one o’clock in the afternoon. The castle, however, was not given up till next morning. The Duke of Perth shook hands with the men of the garrison, told them they were brave fellows, and offered them a large bounty to enlist in the service of the prince.[1004] The mayor and his attendants went to Brampton, and delivered the keys of the city to the prince.[1005] The duke found 1,000 stand of arms in the castle, besides those of the militia. He also found 200 good horses in the city, and a large quantity of valuable effects in the castle, which had been lodged there by the gentry of the neighbourhood for safety.[1006]

On the day following the surrender, the Chevalier de St. George was proclaimed in the city with the usual formalities; and, to give greater eclat to the ceremony, the mayor and aldermen were compelled to attend with the sword and mace carried before them. Along with the manifestoes formerly noticed, another declaration for England, dated from Rome, 23d December, 1743, was also read, of much the same tenor as the others.

After the Chevalier had been proclaimed, and the different manifestoes read, the corporation went out to meet the prince, who entered the city under a general salute of artillery.[1007]

In many points of view the capture of Carlisle would have been of great importance to the prince, if he had been strong enough to have availed himself of the state of terror which that event, and his subsequent advance into the very heart of England, had thrown the people of that kingdom; but his means were soon found quite inadequate to accomplish his end. Even if his resources had been much greater than ever they were, it seems doubtful whether the jealousies and dissensions, which, at an early period, began to distract his councils, would not have rendered all his exertions, for obtaining the great object of his ambition, unavailable.

The _origo mali_, the source of the discord, and all the misfortunes, as the Jacobites would say, that flowed from it, are attributed by an individual[1008] who had good opportunities of judging, and whose narrative appears to be impartial, to “the unbounded ambition of Secretary Murray, who from the beginning aimed at nothing less than the whole direction and management of every thing. To this passion he sacrificed what chance there was of a restoration, though that was the foundation on which all his hopes were built. He had an opportunity of securing the prince’s favour long enough before he could be rivalled. He was almost the only personal acquaintance the prince found in Scotland. It was he that had engaged the prince to make this attempt upon so slight a foundation, and the wonderful success that had hitherto attended it was placed to his account. The Duke of Perth, whose character indeed was well known to the prince, judging of Murray’s heart by his own, entertained the highest opinion of his integrity, went readily into all his schemes, and confirmed the prince in the esteem he had already conceived for Murray. After Mr. Kelly was gone, there was only Sir Thomas Sheridan and Mr. Sullivan, of those that had come along with the prince that had any thing to say with him, and these Murray had gained entirely. Lord George Murray was the man the secretary dreaded most as a rival. Lord George’s birth, age, capacity, and experience, would naturally give him great advantage over the secretary; but the secretary had got the start of him, and was determined to stick at nothing to maintain his ground.

“He began by representing Lord George as a traitor to the prince. He assured him that he had joined on purpose to have an opportunity of delivering him up to the government. It was hardly possible to guard against this imposture. The prince had the highest opinion of his secretary’s integrity, and knew little of Lord George Murray, so the calumny had its full effect. Lord George soon came to know the suspicion the prince had of him, and was affected as one may easily enough imagine. To be sure, nothing could be more shocking to a man of honour, and one that was now for the third time venturing his life and fortune for the royal cause. The prince was partly undeceived by Lord George’s gallant behaviour at the battle [of Preston], and had Lord George improved that opportunity he might have perhaps gained the prince’s favour, and got the better of the secretary; but his haughty and overbearing manner prevented a thorough reconciliation, and seconded the malice and malicious insinuations of his rival. Lord George did not altogether neglect making his court. Upon some occasions he was very obsequious and respectful, but had not temper to go through with it. He now and then broke out into such violent sallies, as the prince could not digest, though the situation of his affairs forced him to bear with them.

“The secretary’s station and favour had attached to him such as were confident of success, and had nothing in view but making their fortunes. Nevertheless, Lord George had greater weight and influence in the council, and generally brought the majority over to his opinion, which so irritated the ambitious secretary, that he endeavoured all he could to give the prince a bad impression of the council itself, and engaged to lay it entirely aside. He had like to have prevailed at Carlisle, but the council was soon resumed, and continued ever after to be held upon extraordinary emergencies. It was not in this particular only that Murray’s ambition was detrimental to the prince’s affairs. Though he was more jealous of Lord George Murray than of any body, Lord George was not the only person he dreaded as a rival. There were abundance of gentlemen in the army, in no respect inferior to Mr. Murray, but his early favour gave him an opportunity of excluding most of them from the prince’s presence and acquaintance. All those gentlemen that joined the prince after Murray were made known under the character he thought fit to give of them, and all employments about the prince’s person, and many in the army, were of his nomination. These he filled with such as, he had reason to think, would never thwart his measures, but be content to be his tools and creatures without aspiring higher. Thus some places of the greatest trust and importance were given to little insignificant fellows, while there were abundance of gentlemen of figure and merit, that had no employment at all, and who might have been of great use had they been properly employed.”[1009]

Till the siege of Carlisle, Secretary Murray had been able to disguise his jealousy of Lord George Murray, who, from his high military attainments, had been able hitherto to rule the council; but, on that occasion, the secretary displayed his hostility openly, and Lord George thereupon resigned his command as one of the lieutenant-generals of the army. The circumstances which led to the resignation of Lord George were these. It appears that, before the blockading party left Brampton, he desired Charles to give him some idea of the terms his royal highness would accept of from Carlisle, not with the view of obtaining powers to conclude a capitulation, but merely to enable him to adjust the terms according to the prince’s intentions, and thereby save a great deal of time. Charles not being able to come to any resolution before Lord George’s departure, his lordship begged of him to send his instructions after him, that he might know how to conduct himself in the event of an offer of surrender by the city; but the secretary interposed, and told Lord George plainly, that he considered the terms of capitulation as a matter within his province, and with which Lord George had no right to interfere.[1010] Lord George has not communicated the answer he gave to Murray on this occasion. The part of the army destined for the blockade, though willing to take their turn along with the rest of the army, was averse to bear the whole burden of it. Their commander was aware of this feeling, and, in a letter written to his brother, the Marquis of Tullibardine, from his head-quarters at Harbery, on the 14th of November, proposed a plan which he thought would satisfy both parties. After alluding to the indefatigable exertions of the Duke of Perth, who had himself wrought in the trenches to encourage his men to erect the battery, and the great difficulties he had to encounter from the nature of the ground, Lord George requested the marquis to represent to the prince, that the men engaged on the blockade would not expose themselves either in trenches or in the open air within cannon shot, or even within musket shot of the town, but by turns with the rest of the army; and he proposed that it should be decided by lot who should mount guard the first night, second night, and so on. To carry the views of his men into effect, Lord George proposed the following plan, subject to the approval of a council of war, viz., that 50 men should be draughted out of each of the battalions that remained at Brampton, with proper officers, and at least two majors out of the six battalions; and that these should be sent to Butcherly, within a mile of the battery; and that as 150 men might be a sufficient guard for the battery, the six battalions would in this way furnish two guards, in addition to which, he proposed that two additional guards should he draughted, one from the Athole brigade, and the other from General Gordon’s and Lord Ogilvy’s regiments; and, by the time these four guards had served in rotation, he reckoned that the city would be taken, or the blockade removed. A council of war was held at Brampton upon this proposal, which came to the resolution, that as soon as the whole body forming the blockade had taken their turn as guards, the division of the army at Brampton should occupy its place, and form the blockade, but that no detachments should be sent from the different corps; nor did the council think it fair to order any such, as these corps had had all the fatigue and danger of the blockade of Edinburgh.[1011]

Such were the circumstances which preceded the resignation of Lord George Murray, who, in a letter to Prince Charles dated the 15th of November, threw up his commission, assigning as his reason the little weight which his advice, as a general officer, had with his royal highness. He, however, stated, that as he had ever had a firm attachment to the house of Stuart, “and in particular to the king,” he would serve as a volunteer, and that it was his design to be that night in the trenches. In a letter, which he wrote the same day to the Marquis of Tullibardine, he stated that he was constantly at a loss to know what was going on in the army, and that he was determined never again to act as an officer; but that as a volunteer, he would show that no man wished better to the cause, and that he would do all in his power to advance the service. At the request of the marquis, who informed Lord George that Charles wished to see him, Lord George waited upon the prince, who appears to have received him dryly. On being informed by Lord George, that he had attended in consequence of a message from the prince, Charles denied that he had required his attendance, and told him that he had nothing particular to say to him. His lordship then repeated his offer to serve as a volunteer. Charles told him he might do so, and here the conversation ended. In a conversation which took place afterwards, between Lord George and Sir Thomas Sheridan, the former entered into some details, to show that in his station, as lieutenant-general, he had had no authority, and that others had usurped the office of general, by using the name of the prince. He complained that, while he was employed in the drudgery, every thing of moment was done without his knowledge or advice. He concluded by observing, that he had ventured his all,--life, fortune, and family,--in short, every thing but his honour,--that, as to the last, he had some to lose, but none to gain, in the way things were managed, and that, therefore, he had resolved upon serving in a humble capacity.[1012]

There appears to be no foundation for the statement[1013] that Lord George resigned his commission from a dislike to serve under the Duke of Perth, whom he never mentions but with respect, although he was much inferior to Lord George in ability. He has also been accused of arrogance both to those of his own rank and even to the prince. But as Burton[1014] well remarks, “men of ability like Murray, unless they preserve a rigid restraint, are apt to let the contempt they feel for the silly people they are embarked with become unreasonably apparent, especially when they are interrupted in their plans by those who do not understand them.” The Duke of Perth, who was a Roman Catholic, on its being represented to him that it might injure the prince’s cause to have at the head of the army one of his persuasion, cheerfully resigned his commission. On this, Lord George, with whose valuable services the army could not dispense, was persuaded to assume his command. He thus became virtually general of the army, under the prince; for his brother, Tullibardine, who was in a bad state of health, took nothing upon him.[1015]

Although Marshal Wade must have been duly apprised of the arrival of the Highland army in England, yet it was not until he had received intelligence of their march to Brampton, and of their probable advance upon Newcastle, that he began to move. He set out from Newcastle on the 16th of November, the day after the surrender of Carlisle; but a deep snow, which had just fallen, so retarded his march, that his army did not reach Ovington till eight o’clock that night. Next day he advanced to Hexham, where the first column of his army arrived about four o’clock in the afternoon; but the rear did not get up till near midnight. The army, unable to proceed farther on account of the snow, encamped on a moor near the town, and the men were provided with a sufficient quantity of straw to repose upon by the inhabitants, who kindled large fires all over the ground to protect the troops from the cold, which was unusually severe. At Hexham, Wade was informed of the reduction of Carlisle. He remained there three days in the expectation of a thaw; but the road to Carlisle continuing impassable, he returned to Newcastle, which he reached on the 22d of November.[1016] The conduct of Marshal Wade, in delaying his march from Newcastle, has been justly censured, for there can be no doubt that had he made a movement in advance upon Carlisle about the time the insurgents marched to Brampton, that town would have been saved.

The sudden and unexpected success which had attended Charles’s arms in England, spread a general alarm through all the northern and western parts of that kingdom, and extended even to the capital itself. Such was the alternation of hope and fear in the minds of the people of all classes, that whilst the most trifling article of good news led them to indulge in the most extravagant manifestations of joy, the smallest reverse of fortune plunged them into the most abject distress. Sir Andrew Mitchell, alluding to this circumstance in a letter to President Forbes, says, that if he had not lived long enough in England to know the natural bravery of the people, he should have formed a very false opinion of them from their demeanour at the period in question.[1017]

As soon as the news of the surrender of Carlisle was known in London, the government resolved to assemble an army of 10,000 men in Staffordshire, under Sir John Ligonier, an officer of considerable military experience. For this purpose, Sir John left London on the 21st of November, taking along with him nine old battalions, two regiments of dragoons, and part of his own regiment of horse. In addition to this and the other army under Wade, a third army, to be placed under the immediate command of his majesty, was ordered to be raised, and encamped in the vicinity of London for its protection. The city and castle of Chester were put in a proper state of defence, and the town of Liverpool raised a regiment of 700 men, who were clothed and maintained at the expense of the inhabitants.

When mustered at Carlisle, the prince’s army amounted only to about 4,500 men.[1018] The idea of marching to London and overturning the government with such a force, in the face of three armies and a numerous militia, amounting in all to upwards of 60,000 men, could scarcely have been entertained by any adventurer, however sanguine his hopes may have been; but Charles was so full of his object, that he shut his eyes to the great difficulties of the enterprise, which he imagined would be surmounted by the tried valour of his troops, and the junction of a considerable party in England devoted to his cause.

To determine upon the course to be next pursued, Charles called a council of war a few days after the capture of Carlisle, in which different opinions were maintained. As there was no appearance of either an invasion from France, or an insurrection in England, some of the members proposed returning to Scotland, where a defensive war could be carried on till such time as the prince should be in a condition to resume offensive operations. Others were for remaining at Carlisle, and quartering the army in the neighbourhood till they saw whether there should be any indications of a rising in England. A third party proposed that they should march to Newcastle and engage Wade’s army. A fourth, that the army should continue its route to London by the west or Lancashire road, in support of which opinion they urged, that being now in possession of Carlisle, they had, at the worst, a safe retreat. This last proposal being quite in accordance with the prince’s own sentiments, he declared that his opinion of marching directly to London, in terms of the resolution entered into at Edinburgh, was in no respect altered since he entered England. Lord George Murray, who had hitherto remained silent, was then desired by the prince to give his opinion. His lordship entered at some length into the question; stated the advantages and disadvantages of each of the different opinions; and concluded, by observing, that for himself he could not venture to advise his royal highness to march far into England, without receiving more encouragement from the country than he had hitherto got; but he was persuaded, that if his royal highness was resolved to make a trial of what could be expected, and would march south, his army, though small, would follow him. After Lord George had done speaking, Charles immediately said he would venture the trial. In giving his opinion, Lord George says he spoke with the more caution, in consequence of the recent circumstances which had led to his resignation.[1019]

As a considerable number of men had been collected at Perth since the prince’s departure from Scotland, and more were on their way thither from the north, Charles, before leaving Carlisle for the south, sent Maclauchlan of Maclauchlan to Scotland with an order to Lord Strathallan, to march with all the forces under his command, and join the army in England; but this order was disregarded.

Whilst encamped at Duddingston, the Highlanders preferred sleeping in the open air, and had with difficulty been prevailed upon to use the tents which had been captured at Preston and those provided at Edinburgh. These tents were packed up for the campaign in England: but the party, to whose care they were intrusted, most unaccountably left the whole of them at Lockerby along with other baggage. The whole, consisting of thirty cart-loads, were captured by a party of country people, who carried them to Dumfries. After the surrender of Carlisle, Lochiel went with a party to reclaim the baggage, failing which, he was ordered to exact £2,000 from the town; but before he reached Dumfries he was recalled. The army, therefore, being now without tents, and the season very severe, it was resolved so to arrange the order of march as to get the men accommodated in the towns. For this purpose, it was determined that one part of the army should precede the other by a day’s march, the second division always occupying the quarters vacated by the first; but that, where the country would admit of it, there should be only half-a-day’s march betwixt them.[1020]

In accordance with this plan, the first division, commanded by Lord George Murray, left Carlisle on the 20th of November. It consisted, with the exception of the Duke of Perth’s regiment, which being appointed to guard the thirteen cannon and ammunition, was not included in either division, of the whole of the low country regiments,[1021] six in number, with the life-guards under Lord Elcho, who marched at the head of the division. Each of these regiments led the van in its turn. This division reached Penrith the same day, having performed a march of eighteen miles. The second division, consisting of the clan regiments and the remainder of the cavalry, headed by the prince in person, left Carlisle next day, and arrived at Penrith that night, and entered the quarters occupied by the first division, which marched the same day to Shap, where it passed the night.[1022] In the march of the prince’s division the cavalry always marched at its head, and each of the clan regiments led the van by turns, agreeably to the plan observed by the division under Lord George Murray. A garrison of about 200 men was left in Carlisle under the command of one Hamilton, who had been made deputy-governor under the Duke of Perth, on whom the governorship had been conferred.[1023]

On reaching Penrith, Charles, for the first time, heard of the march of Wade from Newcastle, and of his arrival at Hexham. Resolved to return to Carlisle and give battle to Wade, should he advance upon that city, Charles remained all the next day at Penrith, waiting for further intelligence of the marshal’s movements; but receiving information from Lord Kilmarnock, who still remained with his horse at Brampton, that the English general was on his way back to Newcastle, Charles marched to Kendal on the 23d. The van of the army, which had arrived at Kendal on the previous day, marched on the 23d to Lancaster, where it halted for the night. The prince resumed his march on the 25th, and reached Lancaster, on which day the first division went to Garstang. On the 26th the whole army reached Preston, where it halted till the 27th. Recollecting the fate of the Highland army at Preston in 1715, the Highlanders had become possessed of the idea that they would never get beyond that town; but Lord George Murray, on being informed of it, dispelled this superstitious dread by crossing the bridge over the Ribble, and quartering a considerable number of his men on the other side of that river.[1024]

During his progress to Preston, Charles received no marks of attachment from the inhabitants of the towns and country through which he passed; but at Preston his arrival was hailed with acclamations and the ringing of bells. With the exception, however, of Mr. Townley, a Catholic gentleman who had been in the French service, and two or three other gentlemen, no person of any note joined him. By dint of entreaty a few recruits were indeed raised; but it was not with such levies that Charles could expect to strengthen his army. At Preston Charles held a council of war, at which he repeated the assurances he alleged he had received from his English partisans, and gave fresh hopes of being joined by them on their arrival at Manchester. The Highland chiefs were prevailed upon to continue their march. Lord George Murray proposed to march with his column to Liverpool, and to join the other division at Macclesfield; but this proposal was overruled.[1025]

Accordingly, on the 28th, the Highland army left Preston and marched to Wigan,[1026] where they passed the night. Next day the whole army entered Manchester, amid the acclamations of the inhabitants, who illuminated their houses, and lighted up bonfires in the evening, to express their joy. The same evening one Dickson, a sergeant, enlisted by the Chevalier Johnstone, from the prisoners taken at Preston, presented 180 recruits whom he had raised in the course of the day in Manchester. This young Scotsman, whom the Chevalier represents to have been “as brave and intrepid as a lion,” disappointed at his own ill success in raising recruits at Preston, had requested permission from Johnstone, in whose company he was, to proceed to Manchester--a day’s march before the army--to make sure of some recruits before it should arrive there. The Chevalier reproved him sharply for entertaining so wild and extravagant a project, which would expose him to the danger of being taken and hanged, and ordered him back to his company; but Dickson, reckless of consequences, quitted Preston on the evening of the 28th, with his mistress and a drummer, and travelling all night, entered Manchester next morning, and immediately began to beat up for recruits for “The Yellow Haired Laddie.” Conceiving that the Highland army was at hand, the populace at first did not interrupt him; but when they ascertained that the army would not arrive till the evening, they surrounded him in a tumultuous manner, with the intention of taking him prisoner dead or alive. Dickson presented his blunderbuss, charged with slugs, threatened to blow out the brains of those who first dared to lay hands on himself or the two who accompanied him; and by turning round continually, facing in all directions, and behaving like a lion, he soon enlarged the circle which a crowd of people had formed around him. Having contrived for some time to manœuvre in this way, those of the inhabitants of Manchester, who were attached to the house of Stuart, took arms, and flew to the assistance of Dickson, to rescue him from the fury of the mob; so that he had soon 500 or 600 men to aid him, who dispersed the crowd in a very short time. Dickson now triumphed in his turn; and putting himself at the head of his followers, he proudly paraded undisturbed the whole day with his drummer, enlisting all who offered themselves. That evening, on presenting his recruits, it was found that the whole amount of his expenses did not exceed three guineas. This adventure gave rise to many a joke, at the expense of the town of Manchester, from the singular circumstance of its having been taken by a sergeant, a drummer, and a girl.[1027]

The van of the prince’s army, consisting of 100 horse, entered Manchester on the evening of the 28th of November, and, to magnify their numbers, ordered quarters to be prepared for 10,000 men. Another party of cavalry entered the town at ten o’clock next morning, and about two o’clock in the afternoon, Charles himself, accompanied by the main body, marched in on foot, surrounded by a select body of the clans. He wore on this occasion a light tartan plaid belted with a blue sash, a grey wig, and a blue velvet bonnet with silver lace, having a white rose in the centre of the top, by which latter badge he was distinguished from his general officers, who wore their cockades on one side.[1028] Here, as in all the other towns through which the Highlanders had passed, the Chevalier de St. George was proclaimed. The bells of the town were rung, and in the evening an illumination was made and bonfires lighted, by order of the prince, who also issued a proclamation requiring all persons, who had public money in their hands, to pay it into his treasury. The army halted a day at Manchester and beat up for recruits. They were joined by some young men of the most respectable families in the town, by several substantial tradesmen and farmers, and by upwards of 100 common men. These, with the recruits raised by Dickson, were formed into a corps called the Manchester regiment, the command of which was given to Mr. Townley, on whom the rank of Colonel was conferred. This regiment never exceeded 300 men, and were all the English who ever openly declared for the prince.[1029]

Though Charles’s reception at Manchester had been rather flattering, yet the countenance he received was not such as to encourage him to proceed, and a retreat now began to be talked of. One of Lord George Murray’s friends ventured to hint to him that he thought they had advanced far enough, as neither of the events they had anticipated, of an insurrection in England, or a landing from France, were likely to take place. Lord George, who, it is understood, had always a retreat in view, if not supported by a party in England or by succours from abroad, said that they might make a farther trial by going as far as Derby, but that if they did not receive greater encouragement than they had yet met with, he would propose a retreat to the prince.

Conceiving that it was the intention of Charles to march by Chester into Wales, the bridges over the Mersey, on the road to Chester, had been broken down by order of the authorities; but this precaution was quite unnecessary. After halting a day at Manchester the army proceeded to Macclesfield on the morning of the 1st of December, in two divisions. One took the road to Stockport, and the other that to Knottesford. The bridge near Stockport having been broken down, Charles crossed the river up to his middle in water. At Knottesford the other division crossed the river over temporary bridges, made chiefly out of poplar trees laid length-ways with planks across. The horse and artillery crossed at Chedle-ford. In the evening both divisions joined at Macclesfield, where they passed the night.[1030]