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The inhabitants of Edinburgh, relieved from the presence of
the Highland army, had lived for five weeks in a state of comparative security. Public
worship had been resumed in several of the city churches on the 3rd of November, and in
all of them on the 10th. The state officers who had retired to Berwick, did not, however,
return till the 13th, when they entered the city with an air of triumph, which accorded
ill with their recent conduct as fugitives. On the following day, Lieutenant-general Handasyde arrived, as before stated, at Edinburgh with Price's and Ligonier's regiments of
foot, and Hamilton's and Ligonier's (lately Gardiner's), dragoons; and, on the 7th
December, these troops were sent west to Stirling, where, in conjunction with the
Glasgow and Paisley militia, amounting to nearly 700 men, commanded by the Earl of Home,
they guarded the passes of the Forth.
In the mean
time, exertions were made to re-embody the Edinburgh regiment; but these do not appear to
have been attended with success. With the exception of some young men who formed
themselves into a volunteer company, few of the inhabitants were disposed to take up arms,
as they were fully sensible, that without a sufficient force of regular troops, no
effectual resistance could be opposed to the Highlanders, should they return to the city.
In this situation of matters, the news of the Highlanders
having crossed the Esk in their retreat from England, reached Edinburgh, and threw the
civil and military authorities into a state of consternation. Ignorant of the route the
Highlanders meant to follow, they were extremely perplexed how to act. They naturally
apprehended another visit, and their fears seemed to be confirmed by the return to
Edinburgh of the regular troops from the west, on the 23rd of December, and by the arrival
of the Glasgow regiment the next day, all of whom had retreated to Edinburgh on the
approach of the Highlanders. A resolution was adopted by the public authorities to put the
city in a proper state of defence, and, on the 29th, a paper was read in the city
churches, acquainting the inhabitants, that it had been resolved in a council of war to
defend the city. Next day a considerable number of men from the parishes in the
neighbourhood, who had been provided with arms from the castle, entered the city, and were
drawn up in the High Street. The men of each parish marched by themselves, and were
attended in most instances by their respective ministers. These were joined by other small
corps, one of the most remarkable of which was a body of Seceders, belonging to the
associated congregations of Edinburgh and Dalkeith, carrying a standard with the
inscription, "For Religion, Covenants, King, and Kingdoms."
Had the Highlanders chosen to march upon Edinburgh, the
resolution to defend it would not have been carried into effect, as it was the intention
of regular troops to have retired to Berwick on their approach; but, fortunately for the
reputation of the new defenders of the capital, and army under Lieutenant-general Hawley
was now on its march into Scotland. This gentleman, who had just been appointed
commander-in-chief in Scotland, though described by the Duke of Newcastle as " an
officer of great ability and experience," was in fact a man of very ordinary military
attainments, and in no way fitted for the important duty which had been assigned him. His
whole genius lay, as Mr. John Forbes of Culloden observed to his father, the president, in
the management of a squadron, or in prosecuting with vigour any mortal to the gallows. He
had a very sorry opinion of the prowess of the Highlanders, whom he was confident of
beating, if his troops were in good condition, without regard to the numbers of their
opponents; but he was destined soon to find out his mistake.
To expedite the march of the English army, the gentlemen
and farmers of Tevoitdale, the Merse, and the Lothians furnished horses, by means of which
the first division of the royal army, consisting of a battalion of the Scots Royals and
Battereau's foot, reached Edinburgh as early as the 2d of January, where they were shortly
joined by Fleming's and Blakeney's regiments, that of Major-general Huske, by Hawley
himself, by the regiments of Wolfe (not, as has been supposed, the immortal general of
that name) and Cholmondeley, Howard's (the old Buffs) and Monro's, and by Barrel's and
Pulteney's. At Dunbar, Aberlady, and other places, these troops were entertained by the
proprietors in East Lothian, who allowed each soldier a pound of beef, a pound of Bread, a
glass of spirits, and a bottle of ale. They were also feasted at Edinburgh at the expense
of the city, where they were courteously received by the terrified inhabitants, who
furnished them with blankets, and evinced great anxiety to make them comfortable.
The citizens also illuminated their houses; and such as
declined had their windows broken by the mob, who also demolished with an unsparing hand
all the windows of such houses as were uninhabited. On his arrival in the city, the
commander-in-chief justified Mr. Forbes's opinion by causing one gallows to be erected in
the Grassmarket, and another between Leith and Edinburgh, on which it is supposed he meant
to hang such unfortunate victims as might fall into his hands. |
