Chapter XXXIV: Introduction: Military character of the Highlands (1)

Hitherto the account of the military exploits of the Highlanders has been limited to their own clan feuds and to the exertions which, for a century, they made in behalf of the unfortunate Stuarts. We are now to notice their operations on a more extended field of action, by giving a condensed sketch of their services in the cause of the country; services which have acquired for them a reputation as deserved as it has been unsurpassed. From moral as well as from physical causes, the Highlanders were well fitted to attain this pre-eminence.

“In forming his military character, the Highlander was not more favoured by nature than by the social system under which he lived. Nursed in poverty, he acquired a hardihood which enabled him to sustain severe privations. As the simplicity of his life gave vigour to his body, so it fortified his mind. Possessing a frame and constitution thus hardened, he was taught to consider courage as the most honourable virtue, cowardice the most disgraceful failing; to venerate and obey his chief, and to devote himself for his native country and clan; and thus prepared to be a soldier, he was ready to follow wherever honour and duty called him. With such principles, and regarding any disgrace he might bring on his clan and district as the most cruel misfortune, the Highland private soldier had a peculiar motive to exertion. The common soldier of many other countries has scarcely any other stimulus to the performance of his duty than the fear of chastisement, or the habit of mechanical obedience to command, produced by the discipline in which he has been trained. With a Highland soldier it is otherwise. When in a national or district corps, he is surrounded by the companions of his youth and the rivals of his early achievements; he feels the impulse of emulation strengthened by the consciousness that every proof which he displays, either of bravery or cowardice, will find its way to his native home. He thus learns to appreciate the value of a good name; and it is thus, that in a Highland regiment, consisting of men from the same country, whose kindred and connexions are mutually known, every individual feels that his conduct is the subject of observation, and that, independently of his duty as a member of a systematic whole, he has to sustain a separate and individual reputation, which will be reflected on his family, and district or glen. Hence he requires no artificial excitements. He acts from motives within himself; his point is fixed, and his aim must terminate either in victory or death. The German soldier considers himself as a part of the military machine, and duly marked out in the orders of the day. He moves onward to his destination with a well-trained pace, and with as phlegmatic indifference to the result as a labourer who works for his daily hire. The courage of the French soldier is supported in the hour of trial by his high notions of the point of honour; but this display of spirit is not always steady. A Highland soldier faces his enemy, whether in front, rear, or flank; and if he has confidence in his commander, it may be predicted with certainty that he will be victorious or die on the ground which he maintains. He goes into the field resolved not to disgrace his name. A striking characteristic of the Highlander is, that all his actions seem to flow from sentiment. His endurance of privation and fatigue,--his resistance of hostile opposition,--his solicitude for the good opinion of his superiors,--all originate in this source, whence also proceeds his obedience, which is always most _conspicuous when exhibited under kind treatment_. Hence arises the difference observable between the conduct of one regiment of Highlanders and that of another, and frequently even of the same regiment at different times, and under different management. A Highland regiment, to be orderly and well disciplined, ought to be commanded by men who are capable of appreciating their character, directing their passions and prejudices, and acquiring their entire confidence and affection. The officer to whom the command of Highlanders is intrusted must endeavour to acquire their confidence and good opinion. With this view, he must watch over the propriety of his own conduct. He must observe the strictest justice and fidelity in his promises to his men, conciliate them by an attention to their dispositions and prejudices, and, at the same time, by preserving a firm and steady authority, without which he will not be respected.

“Officers who are accustomed to command Highland soldiers find it easy to guide and control them when their full confidence has been obtained; but when distrust prevails severity ensues, with a consequent neglect of duty, and by a continuance of this unhappy misunderstanding, the men become stubborn, disobedient, and in the end mutinous. The spirit of a Highland soldier revolts at any unnecessary severity; though he may be led to the mouth of a cannon if properly directed, will rather die than be unfaithful to his trust. But if, instead of leading, his officers attempt to drive him, he may fail in the discharge of the most common duties.”[254]

A learned and ingenious author,[255] who, though himself a Lowlander, had ample opportunity, while serving in many campaigns with Highland regiments, of becoming intimately acquainted with their character, thus writes of them:--

“The limbs of the Highlander are strong and sinewy, the frame hardy, and of great physical power, in proportion to size. He endures cold, hunger, and fatigue with patience; in other words, he has an elasticity or pride of mind which does not feel, or which refuses to complain of hardship. The air of the gentleman is ordinarily majestic; the air and gait of the gilly is not graceful. He walks with a bended knee, and does not walk with grace, but his movement has energy; and between walking and trotting, and by an interchange of pace, he performs long journeys with facility, particularly on broken and irregular ground, such as he has been accustomed to traverse in his native country.

“The Highlanders of Scotland, born and reared under the circumstances stated, marshalled for action by clans, according to ancient usage, led into action by chiefs who possess confidence from an opinion of knowledge, and love from the influence of blood, may be calculated upon as returning victorious, or dying in the grasp of the enemy.

“Scotch Highlanders have a courage devoted to honour; but they have an impetuosity which, if not well understood, and skilfully directed, is liable to error. The Scotch fight individually as if the cause were their own, not as if it were the cause of a commander only,--and they fight impassioned. Whether training and discipline may bring them in time to the apathy of German soldiers, further experience will determine; but the Highlanders are even now impetuous; and, if they fail to accomplish their object, they cannot be withdrawn from it like those who fight a battle by the job. The object stands in their own view; the eye is fixed upon it; they rush towards it, seize it, and proclaim victory with exultation.

“The Highlander, upon the whole, is a soldier of the first quality; but, as already said, he requires to see his object fully, and to come into contact with it in all its extent. He then feels the impression of his duty through a channel which he understands, and he acts consistently in consequence of the impression, that is, in consequence of the impulse of his own internal sentiment, rather than the external impulse of the command of another; for it is often verified in experience that, where the enemy is before the Highlander and nearly in contact with him, the authority of the officer is in a measure null; the duty is notwithstanding done, and well done, by the impulses of natural instinct.

“Their conduct in the year 1745 proves very distinctly that they are neither a ferocious nor a cruel people. No troops ever, perhaps, traversed a country which might be deemed hostile leaving so few traces of outrage behind them as were left by the Highlanders in the year 1745. They are better known at the present time than they were then, and they are known to be eminent for honesty and fidelity, where confidence is given them. They possess exalted notions of honour, warm friendships, and much national pride.”

Of the disinclination from peaceful employment, and propensity for war here spoken of, Dr Jackson elsewhere affords us a striking illustration. While passing through the Isle of Skye[256] in the autumn of 1783, he met a man of great age whose shoulder had, through a recent fall, been dislocated. This condition was speedily rectified by our traveller. “As there seemed to be something rather uncommon about the old man, I asked if he had lived all his life in the Highlands? No:--he said he made one of the FORTY-SECOND when they were first raised; then had gone with them to Germany; but when he had heard that his Prince was landed in the North, he purchased, or had made such interest that he procured his discharge; came home, and enlisted under his banner. He fought at Culloden, and was wounded. After everything was settled, he returned to his old regiment, and served with it till he received another wound that rendered him unfit for service. He now, he said, lived the best way he could, on his pension.”

Dr Jackson also strongly advocates the desirability of forming national and district regiments, and of keeping them free from any foreign intermixture. Such a policy seems to be getting more and more into favour among modern military authorities; and we believe that at the present time it is seldom, and only with reluctance, that any but Scotchmen are admitted into Scotch, and especially into Highland regiments, at least this is the case with regard to privates. Indeed, it is well known that in our own country there is even now an attempt among those who manage such matters, to connect particular regiments with certain districts. Not only does such a plan tend to keep up the _morale_ respectability and _esprit de corps_ of each regiment, but is well calculated to keep up the numbers, by establishing a connection between the various regiments and the militia of the districts with which they are connected. Originally each Highland regiment was connected and raised from a well defined district, and military men who are conversant in such matters think that it would be advisable to restore these regiments to their old footing in this respect. On this subject, we again quote the shrewd remarks of Dr Jackson:--

“If military materials be thrown together promiscuously--that is, arranged by no other rule except that of size or quantity of matter, as it is admitted that the individual parts possess different propensities and different powers of action, it is plain that the instrument composed of these different and independent parts has a tendency to act differently; the parts are constrained to act on one object by stimulation or coercion only.

“Military excellence consists, as often hinted, in every part of the instrument acting with full force--acting from one principle and for one purpose; and hence it is evident that in a mixed fabric, composed of parts of unequal power and different temper, disunion is a consequence, if all act to the full extent of their power; or if disunion be not a consequence, the combined act must necessarily be shackled, and, as such, inferior, the strong being restrained from exertion for the sake of preserving union with the weak.

“The imperfection now stated necessarily attaches to regiments composed of different nations mixed promiscuously. It even attaches, in some degree, to regiments which are formed indiscriminately from the population of all the districts or counties of an extensive kingdom. This assumption, anticipated by reasoning, is confirmed by experience in the military history of semi-barbarous tribes, which are often observed, without the aid of tactic, as taught in modern schools, to stick together in danger and to achieve acts of heroism beyond the comprehension of those who have no knowledge of man but as part of a mechanical instrument of war. The fact has numerous proofs in the history of nations; but it has not a more decisive one than that which occurred in the late SEVENTY-FIRST REGIMENT in the revolutionary war of America. In the summer of the year 1779, a party of the Seventy-first Regiment, consisting of fifty-six men and five officers, was detached from a redoubt at Stoneferry, in South Carolina, for the purpose of reconnoitring the enemy, which was supposed to be advancing in force to attack the post. The instructions given to the officer who commanded went no further than to reconnoitre and retire upon the redoubt. The troops were new troops,--ardent as Highlanders usually are. They fell in with a strong column of the enemy (upwards of two thousand) within a short distance of the post; and, instead of retiring according to instruction, they thought proper to attack, with an instinctive view, it was supposed, to retard progress, and thereby to give time to those who were in the redoubt to make better preparations for defence. This they did; but they were themselves nearly destroyed. All the officers and non-commissioned officers were killed or wounded, and seven of the privates only remained on their legs at the end of the combat. The commanding officer fell, and, in falling, desired the few who still resisted to make the best of their way to the redoubt. They did not obey. The national sympathies were warm. National honour did not permit them to leave their officers in the field; and they actually persisted in covering their fallen comrades until a reinforcement arriving from head quarters, which was at some distance, induced the enemy to retire.”

In the narratives which follow, we have confined ourselves strictly to those regiments which are at the present day officially recognised as Highland. Many existing regiments were originally raised in Highland districts, and formerly wore the Highland dress, which, as our readers will see, had ultimately to be changed into ordinary line regiments, from the difficulty of finding Highlanders willing to enlist; the history of such regiments we have followed only so long as they were recognised as Highland. In this way the existing strictly Highland regiments are reduced to eight--The Black Watch or 42d, the 71st, 72d, 74th, 78th, 79th, 92d, 93d.

FOOTNOTES:

[254] Stewart’s _Sketches_.

[255] Jackson’s _View of the Formation, &c., of Armies_, 1824.

[256] “The Isle of Skye has, within the last forty years, furnished for the public service, twenty-one lieutenant-generals and major-generals; forty-five lieutenant-colonels; six hundred majors, captains, lieutenants, and subalterns; ten thousand foot soldiers; one hundred and twenty pipers; four governors of British colonies; one governor-general; one adjutant-general; one chief-baron of England; and one judge of the Supreme Court of Scotland. The generals may be classed thus:--eight Macdonalds, six Macleods, two Macallisters, two Macaskills, one Mackinnon, one Elder, and one Macqueen. The Isle of Skye is forty-five miles long, and about fifteen in mean breadth. Truly the inhabitants are a wonderous people. It may be mentioned that this island is the birth-place of Cuthullin, the celebrated hero mentioned in Ossian’s Poems.”--_Inverness Journal._

42d ROYAL HIGHLAND REGIMENT.

AM FREICEADAN DUBH--

“THE BLACK WATCH.”

I.

1726-1775.

Embodying the Black Watch--March for England--Mutiny--Fontenoy
--Embarks for the French coast--Flanders--Battle of Lafeldt
--Return of the regiment to Ireland--Number changed from the 43d
to the 42d--Embarks for New York--Louisbourg--Ticonderoga--The
West Indies--Ticonderoga and Crown Point--Surrender of Montreal
--Martinique--Havannah--Bushy Run--Fort Pitt--Ireland--Return of
the 42d to Scotland.

VICTORIES.

EGYPT.
(With the Sphinx.)
CORUNNA.
FUENTES D’ONOR.
PYRENEES.
NIVELLE.
NIVE.
ORTHES.
TOULOUSE.
PENINSULA.
WATERLOO.
ALMA.
SEVASTOPOL.
LUCKNOW.]

The design of rendering such a valuable class of subjects available to the state by forming regular military corps out of it, seems not to have entered into the views of the government till about the year 1729, when six companies of Highlanders were raised, which, from forming distinct corps unconnected with each other, received the appellation of independent companies. Three of these companies consisted of 100 men each, and were therefore called large companies; Lord Lovat, Sir Duncan Campbell of Lochnell, and Colonel Grant of Ballindalloch, were appointed captains over them. The three smaller companies, which consisted of 75 each, were commanded by Colonel Alexander Campbell of Finab, John Campbell of Carrick, and George Munro of Culcairn, under the commission of captain-lieutenants. To each of the six companies were attached two lieutenants and one ensign. To distinguish them from the regular troops, who, from having coats, waistcoats, and breeches of scarlet cloth, were called _Saighdearan Dearg_, or Red soldiers; the independent companies, who were attired in tartan consisting mostly of black, green, and blue, were designated _Am Freiceadan Dubh_, or Black Watch,--from the sombre appearance of their dress.

As the services of these companies were not required beyond their own territory, and as the intrants were not subjected to the humiliating provisions of the disarming act, no difficulty was found in forming them; and when completed, they presented the singular spectacle of a number of young men of respectable families serving as privates in the ranks. “Many of the men who composed these companies were of a higher station in society than that from which soldiers in general are raised; cadets of gentlemen’s families, sons of gentlemen farmers, and tacksmen, either immediately or distantly descended from gentlemen’s families,--men who felt themselves responsible for their conduct to high-minded and honourable families, as well as to a country for which they cherished a devoted affection. In addition to the advantages derived from their superior rank in life, they possessed, in an eminent degree, that of a commanding external deportment, special care being taken in selecting men of full height, well proportioned, and of handsome appearance.”[257]

JOHN, EARL OF CRAWFORD.
25^{th} Oct. 1739--1740.
_First Colonel._

SIR GEORGE MURRAY, G.C.B. G.C.H.
6^{th} Sept. 1823--29^{th} Dec. 1843.
_Also Col. of 72^{nd} Highl^{rs} 24^{th} Feb. 1817--6^{th}
Sept. 1823._

SIR JOHN MACDONALD, K.C.B.
15^{th} Jan. 1844, died Col. of the Reg^t. 28^{th} March 1850.

SIR DUNCAN A. CAMERON, K.C.B.
9^{th} Sept. 1863--

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

The duties assigned to these companies were to enforce the disarming act, to overawe the disaffected, and watch their motions, and to check depredations. For this purpose they were stationed in small detachments in different parts of the country, and generally throughout the district in which they were raised. Thus Fort Augustus and the neighbouring parts of Inverness-shire were occupied by the Frasers under Lord Lovat; Ballindalloch and the Grants were stationed in Strathspey and Badenoch; the Munros under Culcairn, in Ross and Sutherland; Lochnell’s and Carrick’s companies were stationed in Athole and Breadalbane, and Finab’s in Lochaber, and the northern parts of Argyleshire among the disaffected Camerons, and Stewarts of Appin. All Highlanders of whatever clan were admitted indiscriminately into these companies as soldiers; but the officers were taken, almost exclusively, from the whig clans.

The independent companies continued to exist as such until the year 1739, when government resolved to raise four additional companies, and to form the whole into a regiment of the line. For this purpose, letters of service, dated 25th October 1739, were addressed to the Earl of Crawford and Lindsay, who was appointed to the command of the regiment about to be formed, which was to consist of 1000 men. Although the commissions were dated as above, the regiment was not embodied till the month of May 1740, when it assembled on a field between Taybridge and Aberfeldy,[258] in the county of Perth, under the number of the 43d regiment, although they still retained the country name of the Black Watch. “The uniform was a scarlet jacket and waistcoat, with buff facings and white lace,--tartan[259] plaid of twelve yards plaited round the middle of the body, the upper part being fixed on the left shoulder ready to be thrown loose, and wrapped over both shoulders and firelock in rainy weather. At night the plaid served the purpose of a blanket, and was a sufficient covering for the Highlander. These were called belted plaids from being kept tight to the body by a belt, and were worn on guards, reviews, and on all occasions when the men were in full dress. On this belt hung the pistols and dirk when worn. In the barracks, and when not on duty, the little kilt or philibeg was worn, a blue bonnet with a border of white, red and green, arranged in small squares to resemble, as is said, the _fess cheque_ in the arms of the different branches of the Stewart family, and a tuft of feathers, or sometimes, from economy or necessity, a small piece of black bear-skin. The arms were a musket, a bayonet, and a large basket-hilted broadsword. These were furnished by government. Such of the men as chose to supply themselves with pistols and dirks were allowed to carry them, and some had targets after the fashion of their country. The sword-belt was of black leather, and the cartouch-box was carried in front, supported by a narrow belt round the middle.”[260]

The officers appointed to this regiment were:--

_Colonel_--John, Earl of Crawford and Lindsay, died in 1748.
_Lieutenant-Colonel_--Sir Robert Munro of Foulis, Bart.,
killed at Falkirk, 1746.
_Major_--George Grant, brother of the Laird of Grant, removed
from the service by sentence of a court-martial, for allowing
the rebels to get possession of the castle of Inverness in 1746.

_Captains._

George Munro of Culcairn, brother of Sir Robert Munro, killed
in 1746.[261]
Dugal Campbell of Craignish, retired in 1745.
John Campbell of Carrick, killed at Fontenoy.
Colin Campbell, junior, of Monzie, retired in 1743.
Sir James Colquhoun of Luss, Bart., retired in 1748.
Colin Campbell of Ballimore, retired.
John Munro, promoted to be Lieutenant-Colonel in 1743, retired
in 1749.
Captain-Lieutenant Duncan Macfarlane, retired in 1744.

_Lieutenants._

Paul Macpherson.
Lewis Grant of Auchterblair.
{ Both removed from the
John Maclean of Kingarloch. { regiment in consequence
John Mackenzie. { of having
{ fought a duel in 1744.
Alexander Macdonald.
Malcolm Fraser, son of Culduthel, killed at Bergen-op-Zoom in 1747.
George Ramsay.
Francis Grant, son of the Laird of Grant, died Lieutenant-General
in 1782.
John Macneil.

_Ensigns._

Dugal Campbell, killed at Fontenoy.
Dugal Stewart.
John Menzies of Comrie.
Edward Carrick.
Gilbert Stewart of Kincraigie.
Gordon Graham of Draines.
Archd. Macnab, son of the Laird of Macnab, died Lieutenant-General,
1790.
Colin Campbell.
Dugal Stewart.
James Campbell of Glenfalloch, died of wounds at Fontenoy.

_Chaplain_--Hon. Gideon Murray.
_Surgeon_--James Munro, brother of Sir Robert Munro.[262]
_Adjutant_--Gilbert Stewart.
_Quarter-Master_--John Forbes.

In 1740 the Earl of Crawford was removed to the Life Guards, and Brigadier-General Lord Sempill was appointed Colonel of the Highlanders.

After remaining nearly eighteen months in quarters near Taybridge,[263] the regiment was marched northward, in the winter of 1741-2 and the men remained in the stations assigned them till the spring of 1743, when they were ordered to repair to Perth. Having assembled there in March of that year, they were surprised on being informed that orders had been received to march the regiment for England, a step which they considered contrary to an alleged understanding when regimented, that the sphere of their services was not to extend beyond their native country. When the intention of employing them in foreign service came to be known, many of the warmest supporters of the government highly disapproved of the design, among whom was Lord President Forbes. In a letter to General Clayton, the successor of Marshal Wade, the chief commander in Scotland, his lordship thus expresses himself:--“When I first heard of the orders given to the Highland regiment to march southwards, it gave me no sort of concern, because I supposed the intention was only to see them; but as I have lately been assured that they are destined for foreign service, I cannot dissemble my uneasiness at a resolution, that may, in my apprehension, be attended with very bad consequences; nor can I prevail with myself not to communicate to you my thoughts on the subject, however late they may come; because if what I am to suggest has not been already under consideration, it’s possible the resolution may be departed from.” After noticing the consequences which might result from leaving the Highlands unprotected from the designs of the disaffected in the event of a war with France, he thus proceeds:--“Having thus stated to you the danger I dread, I must, in the next place, put you in mind, that the present system for securing the peace of the Highlands, which is the best I ever heard of, is by regular troops stationed from Inverness to Fort William, alongst the chain of lakes which in a manner divides the Highlands, to command the obedience of the inhabitants of both sides, and by a body of disciplined Highlanders wearing the dress and speaking the language of the country, to execute such orders as require expedition, and for which neither the dress nor the manner of the other troops are proper. The Highlanders, now regimented, were at first independent companies; and though their dress, language, and manners, qualified them for securing the low country against depredations; yet that was not the sole use of them: the same qualities fitted them for every expedition that required secrecy and despatch; they served for all purposes of hussars or light horse, in a country where mountains and bogs render cavalry useless, and if properly disposed over the Highlands, nothing that was commonly reported and believed by the Highlanders could be a secret to their commanders, because of their intimacy with the people and the sameness of the language.”[264] Notwithstanding this remonstrance, the government persisted in its determination to send the regiment abroad; and to deceive the men, from whom their real destination was concealed, they were told that the object of their march to England was merely to gratify the curiosity of the king,[265] who was desirous of seeing a Highland regiment. Satisfied with this explanation, they proceeded on their march. The English people, who had been led to consider the Highlanders as savages, were struck with the warlike appearance of the regiment and the orderly deportment of the men, who received in the country and towns through which they passed the mostly friendly attentions.

Having reached the vicinity of London on the 29th and 30th of April, in two divisions, the regiment was reviewed on the 14th of May, on Finchley Common, by Marshal Wade. The arrival of the corps in the neighbourhood of the metropolis had attracted vast crowds of people to their quarters, anxious to behold men of whom they had heard the most extraordinary relations; but, mingled with these, were persons who frequented the quarters of the Highlanders from a very different motive. Their object was to sow the seeds of distrust and disaffection among the men, by circulating misrepresentations and falsehoods respecting the intentions of the government. These incendiaries gave out that a gross deception had been practised upon the regiment, in regard to the object of their journey, in proof of which they adduced the fact of his majesty’s departure for Hanover, on the very day of the arrival of the last division, and that the real design of the government was to get rid of them altogether, as disaffected persons, and, with that view, that the regiment was to be transported for life to the American plantations. These insidious falsehoods had their intended effect upon the minds of the Highlanders, who took care, however, to conceal the indignation they felt at their supposed betrayers. All their thoughts were bent upon a return to their own country, and they concerted their measures for its accomplishment with a secrecy which escaped the observation of their officers, of whose integrity in the affair they do not, however, appear to have entertained any suspicion.

The mutiny which followed created a great sensation, and the circumstances which led to it formed, both in public and in private, the ordinary topic of discussion. The writer of a pamphlet, which was published immediately after the mutiny, and which contains the best view of the subject, and an intimate knowledge of the facts, thus describes the affair:--

“On their march through the northern counties of England, they were every where received with such hospitality, that they appeared in the highest spirits; and it was imagined that their attachment to home was so much abated, that they would feel no reluctance to the change. As they approached the metropolis, however, and were exposed to the taunts of the _true-bred English clowns_, they became more gloomy and sullen. Animated, even to the lowest private, with the feelings of gentlemen, they could ill brook the rudeness of boors--nor could they patiently submit to affronts in a country to which they had been called by invitation of their sovereign. A still deeper cause of discontent preyed upon their minds. A rumour had reached them on their march that they were to be embarked for the plantations. The fate of the marines, the invalids, and other regiments which had been sent to these colonies, seemed to mark out this service as at once the most perilous and the most degrading to which British soldiers could be exposed. With no enemy to encounter worthy of their courage, there was another consideration, which made it peculiarly odious to the Highlanders. By the act of parliament of the eleventh of George I., transportation to the colonies was denounced against the Highland rebels, &c. as the greatest punishment that could be inflicted on them except death, and, when they heard that they were to be sent there, the galling suspicion naturally arose in their minds, that ‘_after being used as rods to scourge their own countrymen, they were to be thrown into the fire_!’ These apprehensions they kept secret even from their own officers; and the care with which they dissembled them is the best evidence of the deep impression which they had made. Amidst all their jealousies and fears, however, they looked forward with considerable expectation to the review, when they were to come under the immediate observation of his majesty, or some of the royal family. On the 14th of May they were reviewed by Marshal Wade, and many persons of distinction, who were highly delighted with the promptitude and alacrity with which they went through their military exercises, and gave a very favourable report of them, where it was likely to operate most to their advantage. From that moment, however, all their thoughts were bent on the means of returning to their own country; and on this wild and romantic march they accordingly set out a few days after. Under pretence of preparing for the review, they had been enabled to provide themselves, unsuspectedly, with some necessary articles, and, confiding in their capability of enduring privations and fatigue, they imagined that they should have great advantages over any troops that might be sent in pursuit of them. It was on the night between Tuesday and Wednesday (17th and 18th May) after the review that they assembled on a common near Highgate, and commenced their march to the north. They kept as nearly as possible between the two great roads, passing from wood to wood in such a manner that it was not well known which way they moved. Orders were issued by the lords justices to the commanding officers of the forces stationed in the counties between them and Scotland, and an advertisement was published by the secretary at war, exhorting the civil officers to be vigilant in their endeavours to discover their route. It was not, however, till about eight o’clock on the evening of Thursday, 19th May, that any certain intelligence of them was obtained, and they had then proceeded as far as Northampton, and were supposed to be shaping their course towards Nottinghamshire. General Blakeney, who commanded at Northampton, immediately despatched Captain Ball, of General Wade’s regiment of horse, an officer well acquainted with that part of the country, to search after them. They had now entered Lady Wood between Brig Stock and Dean Thorp, about four miles from Oundle, when they were discovered. Captain Ball was joined in the evening by the general himself, and about nine all the troops were drawn up in order, near the wood where the Highlanders lay. Seeing themselves in this situation, and unwilling to aggravate their offence by the crime of shedding the blood of his majesty’s troops, they sent one of their guides to inform the general that he might, without fear, send an officer to treat of the terms on which they should be expected to surrender. Captain Ball was accordingly delegated, and, on coming to a conference, the captain demanded that they should instantly lay down their arms and surrender as prisoners at discretion. This they positively refused, declaring that they would rather be cut to pieces than submit, unless the general should send them a written promise, signed by his own hand, that their arms should not be taken from them, and that they should have a free pardon. Upon this the captain delivered the conditions proposed by General Blakeney, viz., that if they would peaceably lay down their arms, and surrender themselves prisoners, the most favourable report should be made of them to the lords-justices; when they again protested that they would be cut in pieces rather than surrender, except on the conditions of retaining their arms, and receiving a free pardon. ‘Hitherto,’ exclaimed the captain, ‘I have been your friend, and am still anxious to do all I can to save you; but, if you continue obstinate an hour longer, surrounded as you are by the king’s forces, not a man of you shall be left alive; and, for my own part, I assure you that I shall give quarter to none.’ He then demanded that two of their number should be ordered to conduct him out of the wood. Two brothers were accordingly ordered to accompany him. Finding that they were inclined to submit, he promised them both a free pardon, and, taking one of them along with him, he sent back the other to endeavour, by every means, to overcome the obstinacy of the rest. He soon returned with thirteen more. Having marched them to a short distance from the wood, the captain again sent one of them back to his comrades to inform them how many had submitted; and in a short time seventeen more followed the example. These were all marched away with their arms (the powder being blown out of their pans,) and when they came before the general they laid down their arms. On returning to the wood they found the whole body disposed to submit to the general’s troops.

“While this was doing in the country,” continues our author, “there was nothing but the flight of the Highlanders talked of in town. The wiser sort blamed it, but some of their hot-headed countrymen were for comparing it to the retreat of the 10,000 Greeks through Persia; by which, for the honour of the ancient kingdom of Scotland, Corporal M’Pherson was erected into a Xenophon. But amongst these idle dreams, the most injurious were those that reflected on their officers, and by a strange kind of innuendo, would have fixed the crime of these people’s desertion upon those who did their duty, and staid here.

“As to the rest of the regiment, they were ordered immediately to Kent, whither they marched very cheerfully, and were from thence transported to Flanders, and are by this time with the army, where I dare say it will quickly appear they were not afraid of fighting the French. In King William’s war there was a Highland regiment that, to avoid going to Flanders, had formed a design of flying into the mountains. This was discovered before they could put it into execution; and General M’Kay, who then commanded in Scotland, caused them to be immediately surrounded and disarmed, and afterwards shipped them for Holland. When they came to the confederate army, they behaved very briskly upon all occasions; but as pick-thanks are never wanting in courts, some wise people were pleased to tell King William that the Highlanders drank King James’s health,--a report which was probably very true. The king, whose good sense taught him to despise such dirty informations, asked General Talmash, who was near him, how they behaved in the field? ‘As well as any troops in the army,’ answered the general, like a soldier and a man of honour. ‘Why then,’ replied the king, ‘if they fight for me, let them drink my father’s health as often as they please.’ On the road, and even after they entered to London, they kept up their spirits, and marched very cheerfully; nor did they show any marks of terror when they were brought into the Tower.”

Though it was evident that the Highlanders were led to commit this rash act under a false impression, and that they were the unconscious dupes of designing men, yet the government thought it could not overlook such a gross breach of military discipline, and the deserters were accordingly tried before a general court-martial on the 8th of June. They were all found guilty, and condemned to be shot. Three only, however, suffered capitally. These were Corporals Malcolm and Samuel M’Pherson,[267] and Farquhar Shaw, a private. They were shot upon the parade within the Tower, in presence of the other prisoners, who joined in their prayers with great earnestness. The unfortunate men met their death with composure, and acted with great propriety. Their bodies were put into three coffins by three of the prisoners, their clansmen and connexions, and were buried together in one grave at the place of execution.[268] From an ill-judged severity, one hundred of the deserters were equally divided between the garrisons of Gibraltar and Minorca, and a similar number were distributed among the different corps in the Leeward islands, Jamaica and Georgia,--a circumstance which, it is believed, impressed the Highlanders with an idea that the government had intended to deceive them.

Near the end of May the remainder of the regiment was sent to Flanders, where it joined the army under the command of Field-Marshal the Earl of Stair. During the years 1743-44, they were quartered in different parts of that country, and by their quiet, orderly, and kind deportment, acquired the entire confidence of the people among whom they mixed. The regiment “was judged the most trustworthy guard of property, insomuch that the people in Flanders choose to have them always for their protection. Seldom were any of them drunk, and they as rarely swore. And the elector-palatine wrote to his envoy in London, desiring him to thank the king of Great Britain for the excellent behaviour of the regiment while in his territories in 1743 and 1744, and for whose sake he adds, ‘I will always pay a respect and regard to a Scotchman in future.’”[269]

Lord Sempill, who had succeeded the Earl of Crawford in the colonelcy of the regiment in 1740, being appointed in April 1745 to the 25th regiment, Lord John Murray, son of the Duke of Athole, succeeded him as colonel of the Highlanders. During the command of these officers, the regiment was designated by the titles of its successive commanders, as Lord Crawford’s, Lord Sempill’s, and Lord John Murray’s Highlanders.

Baffled in his efforts to prevent the elevation of the Grand Duke of Tuscany to the imperial throne, the King of France resolved to humble the house of Austria by making a conquest of the Netherlands. With this view he assembled an immense army in Flanders under the command of the celebrated Marshal Saxe, and having with the dauphin joined the army in April 1745, he, on the 30th of that month, invested Tournay, then garrisoned by 8000 men, commanded by General Baron Dorth, who defended the place with vigour. The Duke of Cumberland, who arrived from England early in May, assumed the command of the allied army assembled at Soignies. It consisted of twenty battalions and twenty-six squadrons of British, five battalions and sixteen squadrons of Hanoverians, all under the immediate command of his royal highness; twenty-six battalions and forty squadrons of Dutch, commanded by the Prince of Waldeck; and eight squadrons of Austrians, under the command of Count Konigseg.

Though the allied army was greatly inferior in number to the enemy, yet as the French army was detached, the duke resolved to march to the relief of Tournay. Marshal Saxe, who soon became aware of the design of the allies, drew up his army in line of battle, on the right bank of the Scheldt, extending from the wood of Barri to Fontenoy, and thence to the village of St Antoine in sight of the British army.

The allied army advanced to Leuse, and on the 9th of May took up a position between the villages of Bougries and Maulbre, in sight of the French army. In the evening the duke, attended by Field-Marshal Konigseg and the Prince of Waldeck, reconnoitred the position of Marshal Saxe. They were covered by the Highlanders, who kept up a sharp fire with French sharp-shooters who were concealed in the woods. After a general survey, the Earl of Crawford, who was left in command of the advance of the army, proceeded with the Highlanders and a party of hussars to examine the enemy’s outposts more narrowly. In the course of the day a Highlander in advance observing that one of the sharp-shooters repeatedly fired at his post, placed his bonnet upon the top of a stick near the verge of a hollow road. This stratagem decoyed the Frenchman, and whilst he was intent on his object, the Highlander approaching cautiously to a point which afforded a sure aim, succeeded in bringing him to the ground.[270]

Having ascertained that a plain which lay between the positions of two armies was covered with some flying squadrons of the enemy, and that their outposts commanded some narrow defiles through which the allied forces had necessarily to march to the attack, the Duke of Cumberland resolved to scour the plain, and to dislodge the outposts, preparatory to advancing upon the besieging army. Accordingly at an early hour next morning, six battalions and twelve squadrons were ordered to disperse the forces on the plain and clear the defiles, a service which they soon performed. Some Austrian hussars being hotly pressed on this occasion by the French light troops, a party of Highlanders was sent to support them, and the Frenchmen were quickly repulsed with loss. This was the first time the Highlanders stood the fire of the enemy in a regular body, and so well did they acquit themselves, that they were particularly noticed for their spirited conduct.

Resolving to attack the enemy next morning, the commander-in-chief of the allied army made the necessary dispositions. Opposite the space between Fontenoy and the wood of Barri, he formed the British and Hanoverian infantry in two lines, and posted their cavalry in the rear. Near the left of the Hanoverians he drew up the Dutch, whose left was towards St Antoine. The French in their turn completed their batteries, and made the most formidable preparations to receive the allies. At two o’clock in the morning of the 11th of May, the Duke of Cumberland began his march, and drew up his army in front of the enemy. The engagement began about four by the guards and the Highlanders attacking a redoubt, advanced on the right of the wood near Vezon, occupied by 600 men, in the vicinity of which place the dauphin was posted. Though the enemy were entrenched breast-high they were forced out by the guards with bayonets, and by the Highlanders with sword, pistol, and dirk, the latter killing a considerable number of them.

The allies continuing steadfastly to advance, Marshal Saxe, who had, during three attacks, lost some of his bravest men, began to think of a retreat; but being extremely unwilling to abandon his position, he resolved to make a last effort to retrieve the fortune of the day by attacking his assailants with all his forces. Being far advanced in a dropsy, the marshal had been carried about the whole day in a litter. This he now quitted, and mounting his horse, he rode over the field giving the necessary orders, whilst two men supported him on each side. He brought forward the household troops of the King of France: he posted his best cavalry on the flanks, and the king’s body guards, with the flower of the infantry in the centre. Having brought up all his field-pieces, he, under cover of their fire and that of the batteries, made a combined charge of cavalry and infantry on the allied army, the greater part of which had, by this time, formed into line by advancing beyond the confined ground. The allies, unable to withstand the impetuosity of this attack, gave way, and were driven back across the ravine, carrying along with them the Highlanders, who had been ordered up from the attack of the village, and two other regiments ordered from the reserve to support the line. After rallying for a short time beyond the ravine, the whole army retreated by order of the duke, the Highlanders and Howard’s regiment (the 19th) under the command of Lord Crawford, covering the rear. The retreat, which was commenced about three o’clock in the afternoon, was effected in excellent order. When it was over his lordship pulled off his hat, and returning thanks to the covering party, said “that they had acquired as much honour in covering so great a retreat, as if they had gained a battle.”[271] The carnage on both sides was great. The allies lost, in killed and wounded, about 7000 men, including a number of officers. The loss of the French is supposed to have equalled that of the allies. The Highlanders lost Captain John Campbell of Carrick,[272] whose head was carried off by a cannon-ball early in the action;[273] Ensign Lachlan Campbell, son of Craignish, and 30 men; Captain Robert Campbell of Finab; Ensigns Ronald Campbell, nephew of Craignish, and James Campbell, son of Glenfalloch; 2 sergeants, and 86 rank and file wounded.

Before the engagement, the part which the Highlanders would act formed a subject of general speculation. Those who knew them had no misgivings; but there were other persons, high in rank, who looked upon the support of such men with an unfavourable eye. So strong was this impression “in some high quarters, that, on the rapid charge made by the Highlanders, when pushing forward sword in hand nearly at full speed, and advancing so far, it was suggested that they inclined to change sides and join the enemy, who had already three brigades of Scotch and Irish engaged, which performed very important services on that day.”[274] All anxiety, however, was soon put an end to by the decided way in which they sustained the national honour.

Captain John Munro of the 43d regiment, in a letter to Lord-president Forbes, thus describes the battle:--“A little after four in the morning, the 30th of April, our cannon began to play, and the French batteries, with triple our weight of metal and numbers too, answered us; about five the infantry was in march; we (the Highlanders) were in the centre of the right brigade; but by six we were ordered to cross the field, (I mean our regiment, for the rest of our brigades did not march to attack,) a little village on the left of the whole, called Fontenoy. As we passed the field the French batteries played upon our front, and right and left flanks, but to no purpose, for their batteries being upon rising ground their balls flew over us and hurt the second line. We were to support the Dutch, who, in their usual way, were very dilatory. We got within musket-shot of their batteries, when we received three full fires of their batteries and small arms, which killed us forty men and one ensign. Here we were obliged to skulk behind houses and hedges for about an hour and a half, waiting for the Dutch, who, when they came up, behaved but so and so. Our regiment being in some disorder, I wanted to draw them up in rear of the Dutch, which their general would scarce allow of; but at last I did it, and marched them again to the front. In half an hour after the Dutch gave way, and Sir Robert Munro thought proper we should retire; for we had then the whole batteries from the enemy’s ground playing upon us, and three thousand foot ready to fall upon us. We retired; but before we had marched thirty yards, we had orders to return to the attack, which we did; and in about ten minutes after had orders to march directly with all expedition, to assist the Hanoverians, who had got by this time well advanced upon the batteries upon the left. They behaved most gallantly and bravely; and had the Dutch taken example from them, we had supped at Tournay. The British behaved well; we (the Highlanders) were told by his royal highness that we did our duty well.... By two of the clock we all retreated; and we were ordered to cover the retreat, as the only regiment that could be kept to their duty, and in this affair we lost sixty more; but the duke made so friendly and favourable a speech to us, that if we had been ordered to attack their lines afresh, I dare say our poor fellows would have done it.”[275]

The Highlanders on this occasion were commanded by Sir Robert Munro of Fowlis, their lieutenant-colonel, in whom, besides great military experience, were united all the best qualities of the soldier. Aware of the importance of allowing his men to follow their accustomed tactics, he obtained leave of the Duke of Cumberland to allow them to fight in their own way. He accordingly “ordered the whole regiment to clap to the ground on receiving the French fire; and instantly after its discharge they sprang up, and coming close to the enemy, poured in their shot upon them to the certain destruction of multitudes, and drove them precipitately through their lines; then retreating, drew up again, and attacked them a second time after the same manner. These attacks they repeated several times the same day, to the surprise of the whole army. Sir Robert was everywhere with his regiment, notwithstanding his great corpulency, and when in the trenches he was hauled out by the legs and arms by his own men; and it is observed that when he commanded the whole regiment to clap to the ground, he himself alone, with the colours behind him, stood upright, receiving the whole fire of the enemy; and this because, (as he said,) though he could easily lie down, his great bulk would not suffer him to rise so quickly. His preservation that day was the surprise and astonishment not only of the whole army, but of all that heard the particulars of the action.”[276]

The gallantry thus displayed by Sir Robert and his regiment was the theme of universal admiration in Britain, and the French themselves could not withhold their meed of praise. “The British behaved well,” says a French writer, “and could be exceeded in ardour by none but our officers, who animated the troops by their example, _when the Highland furies rushed in upon us with more violence than ever did a sea driven by a tempest_. I cannot say much of the other auxiliaries, some of whom looked as if they had no great concern in the matter which way it went. In short, we gained the victory; but may I never see such another!”[277] Some idea may be formed of the havoc made by the Highlanders from the fact of one of them having killed nine Frenchmen with his broadsword, and he was only prevented from increasing the number by his arm being shot off.[278]