Cornell University Library DA 814.5.T91 Ai ‘aising of P iil iain OLIN DA canthey su & 2 is a ) PRINTED BY MELVEN BROTHERS, INVERNESS. fo OY Gift oT Mr. & Mrs. Richard C. B. Clark PREFACE. ——'C s=—— Tue *45, originally read as a professional paper at the Royal United Service Insti- tution, London, is now given in pamphlet form for the information of visitors to the North of Scotland who take more than a passing interest in the Highlands. It is to be hoped that the paper may be _ of special use to the descendants of the former inhabitants of this grand country who come from America and our distant colonies to visit the homes of their ances- tors and look on the graves of the gallant men who fell at Culloden. Atzx. B. Tuntocs. Dunacuton Hovse, Inverness, August, 1896, 4 THE °45, men have ever stood in shoe-leather than Bonnie Prince Charlie. In reading the account of the campaign, it is not surpris- ing to know that his followers, till the day of their death, spoke of him with unbound- ed devotion. Justice is not to condemn him because towards the end of his life, broken down in mind and body, he became a wreck ; under similar circumstances how many of the greatest heroes whose lives are recorded in history would not have failed at last! It is to be regretted that after the ’45 he did not find an opening for his unquestionable ability and energy in be- coming an officer in the French Service, as several of his compatriots did. In 1743 he besought his father to allow him to become a soldier of France, and, had the request been granted, the Highlands might have been spared the rising, and there is every probability that like his great ancestor, Sobieski, he would have been one of the most renowned military commanders of his time. When it is remembered that, with only some 5,000 Highlanders and but two officers who really knew their work, viz., THE 745. 5 Lord George Murray, and Colonel Roy Stewart, he marched into England—far beyond what any Scottish force had ever before accomplished—and for a time seri- ously threatened the stability of the English throne, the following short account of the 45 may well show that the great-grandson of Sobieski was a born soldier as well as a Prince. After the collapse of the rising of 1715, when the military skill of the Duke of Argyll, and the want of it on the part of the Jacobite leader, the Earl of Mar, was so conspicuous, there were two attempts made in favour of the Stuarts by foreign Governments, viz., that by the Spaniards in 1719, when a great storm dispersed their ships carrying 6,000 soldiers, of whom only 300 arrived in Scotland to be captured at Glen Shiel; and in 1744, a French force of 15,000 men, under Marshal Saxe, who was to be accompanied by Charles Edward, was prepared for a descent on the English coast, but a violent gale damaged the French fleet, which also suffered from the atten- tions of Admiral Sir John Norris, so 6 roe °45, that the expedition was given up. Prince Charles thereupon decided to start for Scotland alone, trusting to his personal influence to raise the Highlanders, even without foreign assistance. His father would not sanction such a desperate enter- prise, and even, unfortunately, declined to accede to his son’s request to be allowed to serve in the French Army. Nothing daunted, the Prince therefore decided to wait for a more favourable opportunity, carefully saving all the money he could obtain for the purchase of arms. In August, 1744, John Murray of Broughton, the Jacobite agent for Scot- land, came to Paris and informed the Prince that the joint opinion of the party was that . if the French Government would give 6,000 men, 10,000 stand of arms, and 30,000 louis dor, he: might assuredly reckon on the support of all his Scottish friends; but if the Prince could not obtain assistance to the amount specified, they could do nothing on his behalf. It is said that the agent, whilst conveying the message of his parti- sans, nevertheless encouraged the Prince THE ’45, 7 to undertake his rash enterprise. The de- feat of the English at Fontenoy, and the fact that nearly all the British Army was engaged on the Continent, seemed, however, to present such a favourable opportunity, that the Prince came to the conclusion the time for action had now arrived; and as the French—who, after their success at Fontenoy, seemed to consider a diverting expedition to Scotland unnecessary—would not give the assistance mentioned by the Scotch Jacobites, Prince Charles deter- mined to rely on his own exertions, and start on the expedition. On leaving France he wrote to his father, saying: ‘“ Let what will happen, the stroke is struck. I have taken a firm resolution to conquer or die, and to stand my ground as long as I shall have a man remaining with me.” History records with what extraordinary determin- ation he carried this out. At the end of June he secretly embarked in a small vessel named the “ Doutelle,” a French privateer, fitted out and commanded by a merchant of Nantes, named Walsh, with 1,500 muskets, 1,800 broadswords, 20 small field- 8 THE 745. pieces, and a considerable quantity of am- munition. His companions were the Mar- quis of Tullibardine, Sir Thomas Sheridan, Sir John Macdonald, Francis Strickland, Eneas Macdonald, Mr Kelly, and Mr O’Sullivan. Such was the expedition which was to overthrow the British Government, and which started from France without the assistance, and even without the know- ledge, of the French Cabinet. History can hardly find a parallel instance of such determination and force of character in anyone, Prince or commoner, who, at the age of twenty-four, started with seven com- panions to wrest the throne from one of the most powerful monarchies of that era, and, for a time, seemed on the point of success. The “ Doutelle” was accompanied by a 64- gun ship, the “ Elizabeth,” privately hired from the French Government. Four days after sailing an English man-of-war, the “Lion,” fought the ‘“ Elizabeth,” but was beaten off; the “ Elizabeth ” was, however, so damaged that she had to return to France, the “ Doutelle” continued her voyage alone till she arrived at Eriska at THE 745, 9 South Uist, when the Prince, on landing, was informed that Sir Alexander Macdon- ald, who could bring 1,200 claymores into the field, instead of being ready to join him, as he fully expected, had been gained over by the Lord President to the side of the Government. To most men such intelli- gence would have ended their hopes ; but, nothing daunted, although bitterly dis- appointed, this extraordinary young man embarked and set sail for the mainland, anchoring in Loch Nanagh on the 19th of July. He at once sent for Clanranald, who, on arriving, pointed out that without the assistance of regular troops, arms, and money, arising was utterly hopeless. Un- fortunately, the Prince so worked on the feelings of Clanranald and Lochiel, that they agreed to call out their men and do everything possible to induce others to join; the result being that, on the 19th of August, the Prince was able to raise his standard at Glenfinan, near the head of Loch Shiel, and proclaim war against the British Gov- ernment amidst the wild enthusiasm of the 10 THE ’45. gathering clans, who, by the evening, num- bered 1,200. The Government in London, having at last recéived definite information of the landing, directed Sir John Cope, the General commanding in Scotland, to con- centrate at Stirling all his available force, viz., 1,400 infantry and a few mountain guns, and push at once to Fort Augustus for the purpose of crushing the insurrection at its birth. Cope, leaving two regiments of dragoons in the low country, commenced his march on the great Highland road on the 19th, but on arriving on the 27th at Dalwhinnie, and hearing that the High- landers were so strong that it would be impossible for him to move Westwards and force a passage over Corryarack to Fort Augustus—the pass having been secured by the Prince the previous night—instead of falling back by the road he came, so as to be able to dispute the passage of the Forth, and protect Edinburgh ; the unfor- tunate general carried out the letter but not the spirit of his instructions to march to the North, by continuing along the High- THE °45. 11 land road which leads to Inverness, where some of the loyal clans were assembling. This fatal move at once opened a passage for the Highlanders into the low country, and gave them possession of the road to Edinburgh, along which the Prince pushed with all possible speed vd Blair Athol and Perth. He now showed that he thoroughly understood his work, for, instead of pursu- ing Cope as the Highlanders wished, he turned all his energies towards his true objective, Edinburgh. Full of youthful energy and activity, he won the admiration of the mountaineers, showing that in feats of agility and strength he was their equal, marching on foot at the head of the clans in turn with his target slung over his shoulder, sharing the fatigues and discom- forts of the rapid advance, the Highlanders soon almost worshipped him. At Perth it was found necessary to halt for a few days to organise the force for the capture of Edinburgh. Lord George Murray joined here, and, by reason of his military traiming and experience, virtually became com- mander of the forces. The advance of the 12 THE ’45. Highlanders to Perth produced a panic in Edinburgh. Various frantic attempts were made for defence, but with the enemy al- most at their gates, and a large proportion of the inhabitants wishing success to the Prince, nothing was really accomplished. The flight of the two regiments of dragoons at the mere sight of the Highlanders, which was witnessed from the walls, caused all idea of opposition to be abandoned. The Volunteers returned their arms to the castle, and on the night of the 16th of September one of the city gates, which had been carelessly opened, was rushed by Lochiel’s men. Next morning the Prince took up his quarters at Holyrood, and at one o'clock King James was proclaimed at the Cross. General Cope, who had in the meantime brought his troops by sea from the North of Scotland, landed them at Dunbar, and on the 18th marched with 1,400 infantry. 600 cavalry, and 6 guns towards Edinburgh to give battle to the insurgents, who set out on the morning of the 20th from their camp at Duddingston to meet him. The THE 745. 18 opposing forces came in sight of each other near Preston, when Cope at once formed up his force facing west, but the High- landers rapidly took up an advantageous position on high ground on his left flank, which obliged him to swing round his line to face them, his front being then covered by heavy, marshy ground, over which the Highlanders could not charge except ata great disadvantage. During the afternoon the Prince endeavoured to get into a position from which a successtul attack might be made, but nothing came of it, and both the little armies bivouacked for the night. Leaving the opposing forces ready for action at daybreak a short account of their personnel and previous training for the battle may now be advisable. The English soldier 150 years ago was recruited from a very much lower stratum of the population than now; the ideas and ways of living’ of the better classes of those days were decidedly coarse, and those of the lower classes almost brutal. To main- tain effective discipline in an army so recruited, a code of laws and military pun- 14 THE 745, ishments of frightful severity were con- sidered necessary ; the amount of hanging and flogging recorded in the general orders of former days is absolutely startling ; but notwithstanding such horrible severities, _ the English soldier shewed in action that marvellous bulldog fighting power of the Anglo-Saxon race, and, when under a leader like Marlborough, all other armies went down before the unconquerable British in- fantry. The soldier’s dress in the middle of the 18th century, voluminous and quaint in shape, was not the skin-tight absurdity it became a hundred years later; but the cumbrous equipment with cross-belts and -ponderous pouches hanging about the hips must have been very detrimental to effici- ency in the field. The drill of those days was slow, precise, and after the rigid pattern so dear to the great Continental drill-master whom all armies copied, close shoulder to shoulder formation, in three ranks, although very defective for rapid attack, was nevertheless about as good as could have been devised for acting on the defensive against a line of swordsmen whose THE *45, 15 final rush was almost as rapid as a charge of cavalry. The Highlanders, trained to the use of arms from boyhood, were all proficient in the use of the claymore-broadsword, which all except the lowest class of clansmen habitually wore; a small round shield and dirk were also part of their personal equip- ment, and when on active service a firelock was slung over the shoulder ; a haversack containing oatmeal and an ample plaid supplied all that was necessary in the matter of food and shelter. Brought up as they were, a Highlander thought nothing of lying out in the heather in any weather when herding cattle or marching to an attack on a neighbouring clan. To the’ Lowlanders they were at times a perfect terror, raiding the country, whenever such became a necessity; to the English they were unknown except as wild mountaineers and fierce swordsmen who despised all oc- cupations but that of arms, and who were governed by chiefs who possessed unlimited powers, and for whom they were by their high code of honour at all times ready to 16 THE ’45, give their lives. Strangely erroneous ideas stil] exist with reference to the old High- land clans, principally, if not entirely, owing to certain statements in Lord Macaulay’s history. Those libels on the Highlanders were thoroughly disposed of by Mr. Paget, Q.C., in his ‘“‘ New Examen,” published in 1861. It would hardly now be necessary to refer to Lord Macaulay, had he not lately been quoted as an authority with reference to the Highlanders by a well- known public speaker, whose political views are apparently in accord with those of the great whig historian. The principal, in fact, only, witness Lord Macaulay brings forward in support of his statements against the faithful mountaineers, who were always ready to give their lives to their king, is Captain Burt, who in 1725, much to his disgust, was quartered in far distant Inver- ness instead of the more congenial atmos- phere of London. Lord Macaulay, in his desire to villify the Highlanders, dilates in his well-rounded periods on the traveller's great risk of murder or robbery. Captain Burt’s statement on that subject, which THE 745, 17 1 Macaulay appears to have overlooked, is as follows :—‘ Personal robberies are seldom heard of among them. For my own part, I have several times with a single servant passed the mountain-way from hence to Edinburgh with four to five hundred guineas in my portmanteau, without any apprehension of robbers by the way, or danger in my lodgings at night, though in my sleep anyone with ease might have thrust a sword from the outside through the wall of the hut and my body together. I wish we could say as much of our own country, civilised as it is said to be, though we cannot be safe in going from London to Highgate.” This is the witness Lord Macaulay pro- duces to prove the imminent peril a tra- veller in the Highlands was in of being “stripped and mangled by maurauders, and his eyes given as meal to the eagles.” The rest of his statements with reference to the Highlanders and their social condi- tion, are also shown by Mr. Paget to be equally at variance with truth. Amusing accounts sometimes appear with B 18 THE °45, reference to the clothing worn by High- landers. In ancient times the principal and possibly the only garment was the feile—it would now be called a plaid; the lower portion was pleited round the loins, and held in position by a belt, the upper part being worn round one or both shoulders; subsequently the feile was made into two garments, viz., the feile a beg or little kilt and the plaid. The cloth of these garments was dyed in different chequered patterns and colours. This particular method of adorning or marking the cloth made in different parts of the Highlands is of very ancient derivation. Roman histo- rians mention that it was a common practice amongst the Gauls, who made use of a rectangular cloak or blanket apparently similar to the feile. Pieces of ancient tartan at least 200 years old are still preserved as curiosities. The weaving of the cloth is far superior to any modern production, and the colouring is evidently produced by vegetable dyes, which give a much softer tone than the chemicals now THE 745. 19 used for the fanciful tailor’s tartans whose name is legion. To those who take an antiquarian in- terest in dress, it may be useful to know that on the columns of Trajan and Marcus Aurelius, in Rome, the bare-kneed Roman soldiers are all represented as wearing pleited kilts almost identical with those of the old Highlanders, whilst the defeated or captive barbarians all wear trousers. According to historians the uniform of the British infantry of Ceesar’s time was still more simple, and consisted of blue paint only. When on a hostile expedition, a High- land column marched three deep ; on halt- ing and fronting the line was thus at once in three ranks, which was the formation of attack ; each sept, of which there might be several in a clan, then massed itself to- gether, the chief leading, the doaine wailse —his blood relations—next to him, and in the rear of these the ordinary men, who might not be so well equipped. The line was thus formed of small irregular columns, each under its own chief, who at the final 20 THE ’45. rush led them on, claymore and dirk in hand; comparatively little usé was made of che musket, which was often thrown aside after a round or two, the great object being to close with the sword as rapidly as possible. From the size of some of the clan regiments, it is evident that they must have been divided into bodies corresponding to the modern company, and that they were able to form open or quarter column and deploy. . Returning now to the field of Preston, the Prince during the night received in- formation that there was a road round the East end of the marsh which would enable him to form up on hard ground on Cope’s left flank. Three hours before sunrise the flank march commenced, and at daybreak was completed. The Highland force now faced West; it was in two lines, 1,400 in the first, and 1,000 in the second, the lines were fifty yards apart, the Prince marching between them. Although attacked from a direction, and at an hour he had not ex- pected, yet Cope had time after the alarm was given to change the front of his small tHE °45, 21 foree—throwing back his left so as to face the advancing Highlanders. Cope’s in- fantry was in one line with Gardiner’s dragoons on the right and Hamilton’s on the left; some Highland companies brought from Inverness made up a small second line in rear; the six guns manned by sailors were on the right flank. The battle lasted but a few minutes; five of the guns were fired with effect, but the infantry had only time to discharge one volley before the Highland line struck them, sweeping every- thing before it. The attack seems to have been slightly oblique, the Highland left and Cope’s right coming into contact first, the cavalry on that flank went about at once, riding down in their flight the unfor- tunate guard of the guns. The cavalry on the left disappeared at full gallop even before the Highlanders reached them. Of the infantry some 400 were killed and 700 taken prisoners; guns, treasure chest, bag- gage, and everything fell into the hands of the victors, whose humanity to the enemy’s wounded was beyond all praise; had the English soldiers been their own clansmen 22 THE 45, they could not have been kinder to them. The Prince returned in triumph to Edin- burgh, Lords Ogilvie, Pitsligo and Lewis Gordon, with many other gentlemen from the North, now joined with their men, which brought up the strength of the army to about 6,000, who were soon all well armed and equipped. As arule, the Low- land population of Scotland, and especially those who could not forget the persecution of the Presbyterian Church by the Stuarts, were not favourable to the Prince’s cause ; few of his adherents came from the South of the Forth, where the feeling of the great mass of the people was adverse. A certain amount of assistance in money and arms, including six field guns and some artillery- men, was sent out from France by the Prince’s father, and arrived early in Oc- tober ; it may also be mentioned here that when the news of the success at Preston reached the French Court, it was decided to send an invading force of 10,000 men to England, but the retreat from Derby caused this expedition to be countermanded. At the end of October, the Prince was in THE ’45. 23 possession of a very serviceable little army, rather more than half being true High- landers, the cavalry amounting to 500. There was a sufficient number of field-guns and an ample transport train of wagons and pack-horses. Fully believing that the French would now assist, and that the English and Welsh Jacobites would join him in his advance, the Prince decided on the desperate venture of a march on London. King George, who had hastened back from Flanders on receiving news of the fight at Preston, at once made arrange- ments for assembling a force in the North of England under Marshal Wade. This force arrived at Newcastle on the 29th of October. A considerable portion of the army in Flanders was also ordered to re- turn to England with its commander, the Duke of Cumberland. On the 31st of October Prince Charles commenced his march from Edinburgh, his plan being to enter England in the West at Carlisle, ex- pecting to be joined by his partisans in Lancashire and Wales, where the Jacobite 24 THE 745, element was believed to be particularly strong. In order to deceive Wade at Newcastle, the Prince made ostentatious arrangements for marching into England by the East coast road, going himself with a considerable portion of his army towards Kelso, where he arrived on the 4th of November, marching as usual on foot at the head of the clans; that portion of the army commanded by Lord George Murray, which was to move by the Western road and with which was the artillery and bag- gage, went vid Peebles, Moffat, and Lang- ton to Carlisle; a small connecting force marched wid Selkirk, Hawick, and Moss- paul. Charles remained at Kelso till the 6th, when, having thoroughly deceived Wade, he suddenly turned West, down Liddell Water, and on the 8th picked up the connecting column on the Esk, four miles below Langton; the next day he formed a junction with Lord George Mur- ray’s column and marched on Carlisle, which was invested on the 10th. On the 15th Carlisle town and castle surrendered with a large amount of arms, stores, and THE 745, 25 valuable property. On the 11th Wade moved from Newcastle towards Carlisle, but hearing of the surrender of that place and finding it impossible to cross the inter- vening country on account of the snow, he returned to Newcastle on the 22nd. The march on London was resumed on the 21st vid Preston and Manchester, but at the latter place, which was expected to receive him with open arms, only 300 joined. Instead of sympathy, it was too evident that not only was the population of the English towns and villages quite indisposed to recruit his forces, but everywhere the inhabitants showed themselves more or less hostile to the cause. On arrival at Macclesfield the Prince heard that the Duke of Cumberland was at Stafford, dangerously close to his intended line of advance ; Lord George Murray was, there- fore, directed to march part of the force Westward, as if the Highland army was moving on Wales. The Duke of Cumber- land, although well supplied with cavalry, was out-manceuvred as Wade had been, and concentrated his force as the Prince wished, 26 THE °45, thereby leaving the London road clear. Lord George Murray then rejoined by a rapid night-flank march, and the whole Highland Army moved without interrup- tion to Derby, where it arrived on the 4th of December, and on that day received in- telligence that the French were preparing to invade England, and had already sent 1,000 soldiers to Scotland—they landed at Montrose the 2nd of December. The Highlanders being now only six days’ march from London were in high spirits, expecting soon to fight a decisive battle. A council of war was assembled apparently to arrange accordingly, when, to the Prince’s horror, instead of deciding to push on at once, the whole of the council, with the exception of the Duke of Perth, stated that the French assistance had come too late; three armies, viz., one at Newcastle, one at Stafford, and one close to London, amounting altogether to 30,000 men, were closing in on them, whilst their own force barely numbered 5,000. Charles tried his utmost to induce his commanders to con- tinue the advance, but their eyes were THE 745, 27 opened at last to the utter hopelessness of any chance of success, and on the 6th of December, with their Prince almost broken- hearted, his army commenced its retreat, and arrived at Carlisle on the 19th, with the loss of only 40 men, although closely pressed by the combined mounted forces of both Cumberland and Wade, amounting to 4,000. Lord George Murray and Colonel Roy Stuart were in charge of the rear-guard, and right well did they do their duty ; with bad and obstructed roads and practically without cavalry to assist them, these two officers did their work so per- fectly that every gun and baggage wagon was brought into Carlisle, and when some 4,000 mounted men attacked the rear- guard at Clifton, beyond Shap, Lord George handled his force so skillfully and struck the enemy such a staggering blow that they thought it advisable not to press him again. The field guns and upwards of 300 tents complete were left at Carlisle, and, unfortunately, also a garrison of 400 men; to the Highlanders artillery was really of little value, but to leave 400 men in a place 28 THE ’45. which could only hold out for a short time was a hideous error. A few months after- wards the heads of several of these un- fortunate men remained for many a day over the city gates, grim witnesses of the sad mistake. On the 20th the Highlanders crossed the Esk, and arrived in Glasgow on Christmas Day, having during the fifty- six days since they left Edinburgh marched a total of 580 miles, and literally walked round two armies, each double their strength and well supplied with cavalry. The Highland army left Glasgow on the 8rd January, and marched to Stirling, which surrendered on the 7th; the castle, however, held out, and the Prince, deceived by his engineer officer, a Monsieur Mira- belle, who really knew nothing of his work, unfortunately commenced operations under the expectation of a speedy surrender of General Blakeney and the English garri- gon. On arriving at Stirling, the Prince’s army was strengthened by the Highland and French reinforcements of 4,000, which had been assembled at Perth, making a THE ’45, 29 total of 8,000. The Duke of Cumberland had in the meantime been recalled from Carlisle to take command against the ex- pected French invasion of England, his -gucecessor being General Hawley, who marched into Edinburgh with 8,000 men, of whom 1,300 were cavalry, which he con- sidered sufficient to attack the Highland army, and deemed it advisable to do so be- fore Stirling Castle surrendered. Leaving Edinburgh on the 13th January, he marched into Falkirk on the 16th, where he was joined by 1,000 Argyle Highlanders. Gen- eral Hawley, having seen much service on the Continent, had a supreme contempt for the Highlanders, and went off next morn- ing to breakfast with Lady Kilmarnock at Callendar, never supposing for an instant that the enemy would presume to com- mence hostilities; but depressed and broken as the Prince had been by the necessity of retreating from England, the presence of an enemy roused again into action the in- stinctive military talent of his Sobieski blood which had out-generalled Cope at Corryarack and crushed him at Preston. 30 THE ’45, He ordered a review of the army near Ban- nockburn, and when all were assembled at 10 a.m. called a council of war and an- nounced his intention of at once attacking Hawley, his scheme being to obtain posses- sion of the high ground above the English camp and then move down in line of battle. Skilfully handling his force, the Prince succeeded in getting his army in two lines on the high ground before the now thor- oughly alarmed Hawley could interfere with his movements. That general, how- ever, managed to get his force also in two lines on the same level plateau, with his cavalry massed. in front of his left flank. The three cavalry regiments commenced the action, coming on at a steady trot, against the Highlanders, who waited till they were within about 80 yards and then fired such a destructive volley that the dragoons, according to their usual custom, went about—one portion, however, charged home, but against such determined swords- men they had no chance.