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THE REBELLION OF
1715-JACOBITE GATHERING AT LOCHMABEN -LOYAL MOVEMENTS AND MEETINGS IN
1'11E DISTRICT-PREPARATIONS MADE FOR DEFENDING DUMFRIES -VISCOUNT KENMURE,
AND WILLIAM, EARL OF NITHSDALE, ESPOUSE THE PRETENDER'S CAUSE-ESTIMATE OF
THE EARL'S CHARACTER FROM HIS PORTRAIT AT TERREGLES-THE BURGH MENACED BY
THE INSURGENTS-LOYAL REINFORCEMENTS ARRIVE FROM NEIGHBOURING TOWNS-THE
PRETENDER PROCLAIMED BY THE INSURGENTS AT LOCHMABEN --A LUDICROUS INCIDENT
HASTENS THEIR DEPARTURE FROM THAT BURGH.
WE have now reached that
eventful period of British history when the first attempt was made by the
exiled royal family to recover the throne from which James VII. was
driven, under the circumstances described in a previous chapter. The Earl
of Mar, resenting his dismissal from office by George I., readily
undertook the leadership of a movement designed to " bring the auld
Stuarts back again;" and, having retired to his estates, he convened a
meeting of such Highland chiefs and Lowland lords as were supposed to be
favourable to the undertaking.
To this gathering, held on
the 26th of August, 1715, under the pretext of a great hunting match, the
chivalrous house of Maxwell sent its chief; there repaired to it also "the
bonniest lord that ever Galloway saw;" and, in presence of the assembled
thanes, the standard of the Pretender-the flag of insurrection -was
planted "on the braes of Mar." Some time before this daring step was
taken, several provincial meetings of Jacobites had been held, for the
purpose of manifesting their views, and ascertaining the state of public
feeling regarding them. One of these is thus described by Rae, in his
"History of the Rebellion:" ["The History of the late Rebellion ; Rais'd
against His Majesty King George by the Friends of the Popish Pretender.
Drumfries : Printed by Robert Rae, and sold by him, and by Mr. John
Martin, in the Parliament Gloss, Edinburgh, &c. MDCCXVIII." The author,
the Rev. Peter Rae, was minister of Kirkconnell, in Upper Nithsdale. He
published several treatises in divinity, and was deemed a good scholar and
philosopher, as well as an able divine. His brother, who printed the
volume, was at that time the only typographer in the south of Scotland.] -" Upon Saturday, the 29th of
May, 1714 [the anniversary of the Restoration], there was a great
confluence of gentlemen and country people at Lochmaben, on the occasion
of a horse-race there. Two plates, which were the prizes, had peculiar
devices: the one had a woman with balances in her hand, the emblem of
justice, and over the head was Justitia, and at a little distance Suum
cuique. The other had several men, with their heads downwards, in a
tumbling posture; and one eminent person, erected above the rest, with
that Scripture, Ezek. xxi. 27, ` I will overturn, overturn, overturn it :
and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give
it him.' After the race, the Popish and Jacobite gentry, such as Frances
Maxwell of Tinwald, John Maxwell, his brother, Robert Johnston of Wamphray,
Robert Carruthers of Rammerscales, the Master of Burleigh (who is under
sentence of death for murder, and made his escape out of the tolbooth of
Edinburgh a little before he was to have been execute), with several
others I could name, went to the Cross, where, in a very solemn manner,
before hundreds of witnesses, with drum beating and colours display'd,
they did upon their knees drink their King's health," the Master of
Burleigh prefacing the toast by invoking perdition on the heads of those
who refused to drink it, [Rae's History, pp. 49-50.] The same historian
states that, in the year before, there was a similar demonstration, though
less defiant, in the same burgh; and laments that these warning presages
were left unheeded by the Government.
[The gathering at Lochmaben
was celebrated by a Jacobite minstrel in the following spirited strains:
As As I came by Lochmaben-gate,
It's there I saw the Johnstones riding;
Away they go, and they feared no foe,
With their drums a-beating, colours flying.
All the lads of Annandale
Came there, their gallant chiefs to follow:
Brave Burleigh, Ford, and Rammerscales,
With Winton and the gallant Rollo.
"I asked a man what meant the fray
`Good sir,' said he, `you seem a stranger;
This is the twenty-ninth of May
Far better had you shun the danger.
These are rebels to the Throne
Reason have we all to know it;
Popish knaves and dogs each one!
Pray, pass on, or you shall rue it.'
"I looked the traitor in the face,
Drew out my sword and ettled at him:
`Deil send a' the Whiggish race
Downward to the dad that gat 'em!'
Right lair he gloomed, but naething said,
While my heart was like to stunner:
Cowards are they born and bred,
Ilka whingeing, praying sinner.
"My bonnet on my sword I bare,
And fast I spurred by knight and lady;
And thrice I waved it in the air,
Where a' our lads stood ranked and ready.
'Long live King James!' aloud I cried,
'Our nation's King, our nation's glory!
'Long live King James!' they all replied -
'Welcome, welcome, gallant Tory!'
"Then I shook hands wi' lord and knight,
And mony a brave and buskined lady;
But lang I'll mind Lochmaben-gate,
And a' our lads for battle ready.
And when I gang by Locharbriggs,
And o'er the moor at e'en or morrow,
I'll send a curse unto the Whigs
That wrought us a' this dool and sorrow."
Hogg, after quoting Rae's account of the
demonstrations at Lochmaben, says:-" Mr. Rae does not mention that the
Lords Winton and Rollo were present there at either of the meetings. I
find, however, from another part of his history, that they were both in
Annandale that year first mentioned, else the elated ballad-monger would
not have included them." - Jacobite Relics, vol. i., p. 294.]
On the other hand, several noblemen and
gentlemen in the south and west, fearing that the success of the
Pretender-who was, like his father, a Roman Catholic-would, among other
evils, lead to the re-establishment of Popery, and an arbitrary form of
government, adopted various precautionary measures in view of the
threatened outbreak, They met at Dalmellington on the 18th of March, 1714,
and passed resolutions to the effect that a general correspondence be
entered into among the well-affected nobility, gentry, and citizens
"within the shires of Clydesdale, Renfrew, Ayr, Galloway, Nithsdale, and
the Stewartries and bailiaries thereof;" that meetings be held in each of
these districts, for furtherance of the common object; that each district
shall be invited to send representatives to general quarterly meetings,
the first of which was fixed to be held at Dalmellington; that intercourse
by letter or otherwise be kept up with their friends in Great Britain and
Ireland; and that " it be earnestly recommended to each of the said
particular meetings to fall upon such prudent and expeditious methods to
put their people in a defensive posture, in such a manner as they shall
see most proper and conform to law." [Rae's History, p. 42.] Sir Thomas
Kirkpatrick of Closeburn (descended from a long line of heroes), Mr.
Alexander Fergusson of Craigdarroch (whose father fell fighting against
Claverhouse at Killiecrankie), and other influential men in Nithsdale,
took an active part in this defensive movement; the magistrates of
Dumfries and the ministers of the Presbytery gave to it their cordial
cooperation ; money for the purchase of arms and ammunition was liberally
contributed in the district; and the people of each parish were placed
under military drill, and accustomed to the use of fire-arms : so that,
when the rebellion actually broke out, the Dumfriesians and their
neighbours were in a fit condition to cope with it.
We have seen how resolutely the inhabitants of
the Burgh and their rulers opposed the Union; and if their
sentiments on that subject had not been kept in check by a counter
feeling, they would perhaps have encouraged rather than opposed the
pretensions of Prince James. But their antipathy to the Union was feeble
as compared with their sense of the wrongs done towards them by the Stuart
race, and their zeal for Protestantism. Claverhouse and Lag foreclosed the
success of any attempt that might be made in Nithsdale or Galloway to
restore the exiled family; and it is not too much to say, that the bloody
Persecution instituted by Charles II. foredoomed the Rebellion raised by
his nephew to a hopeless failure. Had it not been for that circumstance,
the descendant of Scotland's ancient kings would have met with a better
reception from its inhabitants generally, when he claimed their
allegiance, and his enterprise would have had a greater chance of success.
The magistrates of Dumfries having, on the
23rd of July, 1715, been apprised, by letters from London, of the
Pretender's design to land in Scotland, communicated this intelligence to
the Council, and forthwith means were taken to mature the defences of the
Burgh. It was deemed probable that the debarkation would take place on the
shores of Lochryan, or, nearer still, at the harbour of Kirkcudbright; and
that afterwards an attempt would be made to seize Dumfries, as the chief
town of the district. Hence the necessity for proceeding promptly with
protective measures on a large scale. The various trained bands were drawn
out; strong guards were posted at the four ports; and seven companies,
corresponding in number to the Incorporated Trades, were formed, composed
of sixty effective men each, the Provost officiating as commanderin-chief
of this municipal force. It was carefully trained almost daily; " and,"
says Rae, " for the more effectual training of the younger sort, a company
of bachelors was formed out of the rest, who assumed the title of the
Company of Loyal Bachelors." [Rae's History, pp. 182-3.]
Stimulated by the example of Dumfries, and the
sense of a common danger, many County gentlemen, ministers of the
district, and others, made extensive arrangements to protect themselves,
and defeat the machinations of the enemy. Towards the end of July, Major
James Aikman arrived in the district from Edinburgh, commissioned to
superintend and promote the military preparations. On the 10th of August,
in company with Sir Thomas Kirkpatrick of Closeburn, Mr. Gordon of
Earlston, and others, he reviewed the fencible men of Upper Nithsdale, at
a general rendezvous on Marjory-muir. Proceeding to Closeburn, he assisted
at a meeting held there representing some parishes in Lower Nithsdale, at
which it was resolved that a volunteer company should be formed in each
parish; and that, when the period for action arrived, Sanquhar should be
the place of rendezvous for the western shires.
In accordance with a resolution come to at the
Braemar gathering, on the 26th of August, the Jacobite chiefs held a
second meeting at the same place, on the 6th of September, with about two
thousand followers, and proclaimed the Pretender, King of Scotland,
England, France, and Ireland. On marching to Dunkeld, they were largely
enforced by the people of the district, by two thousand clansmen under the
Marquis of Tullibardine, by fourteen hundred from the braes of Athole, and
by five hundred sent by the Earl of Breadalbane. Mar himself mustered no
fewer than three thousand additional followers; and the insurgent army,
thus swelled to about eight thousand men, boldly pushed down to Perth,
which city they occupied without resistance, the Earl of Rothes not
finding himself able to offer them any effectual opposition. Whilst the
Prince's friends in the North were thus employed, William, fifth Earl of
Nithsdale, [On the death of the second Earl of Nithsdale, in 1667, without
issue, his title and estates devolved upon John, seventh Lord Herries. The
son of the latter was the fourth earl, and had, by Lady Lucy Douglas, his
wife, William, the fifth Earl, and a daughter, Lady Mary Maxwell, Countess
of Traquair.] and William, sixth viscount of Kenmure, raised his standard
in the Border counties, to co-operate with the Jacobite forces under
Forster and Derwentwater in England. Maxwell, on account of his great
local influence, and the services rendered by his family to the Stuarts,
would have been placed at the head of the rebel movement in the South had
it not been that he was a devoted Romanist, whom it would have been
imprudent to appoint to that office.
And, in truth, if we may judge from the
portrait of Earl William at Terregles House, as painted by Sir Godfrey
Kneller, he was not designed by nature for such a warlike enterprise. The
armour in which the figure is attired is out of keeping with the face,
which is that of a peace-loving, ardent, warm-hearted man. There is no
trace of wile or craft in the countenance; the brow is well-developed; the
nose of such size and breadth as betokens mental strength, but it has no
lines of combativeness; and when the noble lord was led into the
rebellious fray, it must have been from no love of fighting, but from
chivalrous enthusiasm, mingling with a sober sense of duty. The eyes are
so prominent, that he must have been a fluent speaker; and wit -perhaps
poetry - is visible in the full, rounded lips. Altogether, if our
inferences be correct, he would have been more in his element at home, or
in the social circle, or shining at the Court of his sovereign, than in
the camp or battle-field.
The Protestant Lord Kenmure, who was raised to
the chief command, was of a more warlike temperament. He was, however, but
indifferently conversant with military affairs-had, indeed, received no
soldierly training-a sad want for one in his position; but he had all the
indomitable bravery of his race -
"There ne'er was a coward
of Kenmure's blood,
Nor yet of Gordon's line!"-
was prudent withal, and possessed sufficient
intellectual capacity for the perilous and onerous trust assigned to him.
When, after bidding a last adieu to his lady, he endeavoured to mount his
favourite charger, the horse, usually docile, repeatedly baffled his
efforts. Disconcerted by this inauspicious omen, a gentle voice reassured
him with the words, "Go on, my lord! go on! you are in a good cause !
Remember, faint heart never won fair lady!" Having at length leaped into
the saddle, the noble Viscount rode off, never to return-never to hear
again the voice which, with more than trumpet's power, stirred his
blood-as he hastened to encounter the enemies of his Prince, and, alas!
meet with " dusty death," in its most repulsive form, upon the scaffold.
Mar expected to receive a supply of both men
and arms from France; but in this he was disappointed: and it soon became
obvious that if James VIII. was ever to be more than a nominal king, he
would owe his success solely to " native swords, and native ranks." With
the view of preventing Mar from marching into the Lowlands, and also, if
possible, of extinguishing the Rebellion at its birth-place, the Duke of
Argyle, the Royalist commander-in-chief, formed a camp at Stirling, and
summoned the friends of King George throughout the country to meet him
there. Letters to
this effect were sent by his Grace to the well-affected burghs, including
Dumfries; and also to particular individuals on whose services he thought
he could depend. The zealous and influential Laird of Craigdarroch, who
was looked upon as the leading loyalist in Nithsdale, received from Argyle
a communication dated Edinburgh, 16th September, 1715, announcing the
outbreak of the insurrection, and stating that the writer recognized the
necessity of raising volunteer forces to assist the King's army in coping
with it:- "Your Lord Lieutenant not being yet come down," proceeds the
Duke, " to give orders for drawing out such other of the well-affected
people as should be thought necessary, and I being convinced of your zeal
and good inclinations to serve our King and country, and looking upon you
as my particular friend, I apply to you on this occasion, and desire you
would forthwith come to Stirling, with what number of well-arm'd men you
can get together to join the King's regular forces. This will be of
infinite service to his Majesty, and will not fail to be acknowledged as
such." [Rae's History, pp. 230-31.]
If Argyle had suspected the existence of serious danger in the South, he
would not have summoned Mr. Fergusson to Stirling ; and that gentleman not
thinking that his services would soon be pressingly required at home,
proceeded to Keirmoss, Penpont, with about sixty well-armed recruits,
raised in the parishes of Glencairn and Tynron. At that place he met with
many from neighbouring parishes, assembled in arms under Sir Thomas
Kirkpatrick, James Grierson of Capenoch, John Dalrymple of Waterside,
Thomas Hunter of Bateford, Provost Crosbie of Dumfries, and other
gentlemen, including several ministers. After patriotic addresses from Mr.
Fergusson and Sir Thomas Kirkpatrick, many more volunteers were obtained
for the King's army; and Mr. Crosbie announced that Dumfries was enlisting
a hundred men, who would be ready to set out with him in a few days for
Stirling. Next day, Craigdarroch, accompanied by Mr. Hunter of Bateford,
Air. M'Gachan of Dalquhat, and by Mr. Simon Riddell, Mr. John Pollock, and
Mr. James Hunter, ministers of Tynron, Glencairn, and Dornock
respectively, marched with his men towards the royal camp. The company he
brought to Stirling proved a valuable acquisition to Argyle ; but hearing
soon afterwards of the Jacobite movement in Dumfriesshire, Mr. Fergusson,
at the Duke's instance, retraced his steps, that he might defend the
King's interests in his native County.
By the beginning of October, matters began to
wear a very serious aspect. Mar had put his army in motion ; and the
rebels under Kenmure, after being reinforced from England, were hovering
menacingly in Cumberland, as if they intended to attack Dumfries. As yet,
there had been no serious fighting -nothing approaching to a trial of
strength ; but that, to all appearance, could not be long deferred, as
Argyle was fully alive to the necessity of confronting the rebel chief
before he could effect a junction with his friends in the South. In view
of the pending struggle, the militia of several shires were called out,
and formed with the volunteers a large force, apart altogether from the
regular army at Stirling. At this time the lord-lieutenancy of
Dumfriesshire was held by the head of an old Border house-William
Johnstone, first Marquis of Annandale; [When, by the death, in 1685, of
James Murray, Earl of Annandale, that title became extinct, it was revived
for the purpose of being conferred on James Johnstone of Lochwood, the
second Earl of Hartfell (who, as we have seen, fought under Montrose). His
son William was the second Johnstone who bore the title of Earl of
Annandale. In 1701 he was created Marquis of Annandale. By his wife
Sophia, heiress of John Fairholm, of Craigiehall, Linlithgowshire, he had
James, second Marquis of Annandale, two other sons, who died unmarried,
and two daughters, the eldest of whom married Charles Hope, afterwards
created Earl of Hopetoun. William, the first Marquis, had, by Charlotte
van Lore, only child of John Vanden Bempde, of Pall Mall, London, his
second wife, George, third Marquis of Annandale, and John, who died young.
"James, the second Marquis of Annandale," says the "Scottish Nation,"
"resided much abroad, and dying unmarried at Naples, 21st February, 1730,
was buried in Westminster Abbey. The estate of Craigiehall went to his
nephew, the Honourable Charles Hope; and his titles and the other estates
to his half brother, George, third Marquis of Annandale, born 29th May,
1720. The loss of his brother, Lord John, in 1742, occasioned a depression
of spirits which-finally deranged his mind. He died 24th April, 1792, when
the title of Marquis of Annandale became dormant-claimed by Sir Frederic
John William Johnstone of Westerhall, Baronet, and by Mr. Goodinge
Johnstone. It is understood that the titles of Earl of Annandale and
Hartfell devolved upon James, third Earl of Hopetoun, who, however, did
not assume them, but took the name of Johnstone in addition to that of
Hope." The earldom was also claimed by Mr. Hope Johnstone of Annandale. ]
and he had as deputies, to act with him during the crisis, the
representatives of other ancient families - Kirkpatrick of Closeburn,
Fergusson of Craigdarroch, Johnstone of Corehead, Grierson of Capenoch,
Maxwell of Dalswinton, and Johnstone of Broadholm. The first decisive step
taken by the Marquis was to call a meeting of the "fencible men" of the
County, which accordingly took place on Locharbridge-hill: a great
wappenschaw it was, numerically large, and pervaded by the utmost
enthusiasm. On
Saturday the 8th of October, when the people of the Burgh were at worship
in St. Michael's Church-it being the preparation day for the communion
Sabbath-they were somewhat disturbed by seeing a messenger entering and
handing a packet to Mr. Gilchrist, one of the bailies, which induced the
latter to withdraw. The communication was well fitted to excite the alarm
of the congregation, had they known its nature; as it informed the
magistrate of a Jacobite plot to seize the town next day, during the
celebration of the sacrament. Bailie Gilchrist consulted with the Provost
on the subject; and they, concluding that the letter-which was dated from
Locharbridge, and professed to be written by a loyal countryman-was a
forgery, and that its author wished to create a false alarm, took no
action upon it, except to double the guards. The writer was perfectly
honest, however, in so far as he indicated the approach of danger; and on
Monday (the loth) another warning communication was received by the
magistrates from certain parishioners of Tinwald and Torthorwald, who had
assembled at Locharbridge with arms, and who offered their instant
services to defend the town. Provost Crosbie, unwilling to cause any undue
excitement among the inhabitants, stated in answer that the parties might
retire home for the night, though they might hold themselves in readiness
to come to Dumfries when called upon.
A third warning was received on the following
day-one which could not be disregarded, coming, as it did, in the form of
the following letter, from the Lord Justice-Clerk, addressed to the
Provost:- "Edinburgh, October 8th, 1715.-Sir,-Having good information that
there is a design framed of rising in rebellion in the southern parts
against his Majesty and the Government, I send this express to advise you
thereof, that you may be upon your guard : For by what I can rely upon,
their first attempt is to be suddenly upon your town. I heartily wish you
may escape their intended visite. - I am, sir, your well-wisher and humble
servant, - AD: Cockburn.
Most fortunate it was that the Provost never
had been able to go, as he intended, with a hundred men to Stirling,
seeing that there was now so much need for his directing head and their
stout arms at home. Though slow to apprehend peril, be had all along
zealously promoted defensive measures; and he acted with unhesitating
promptitude when the real juncture arrived. He forthwith called a meeting
of the Town Council and other influential burgesses, laid before them the
letter he had received, and pointed out the imminency of the danger with
which they were menaced, and the necessity of obtaining aid from a
distance to enable them to ward it off. The Provost's representations
received unanimous approval; and as a general meeting of the fencible men
of the Stewartry was being held that very day at Leaths-moor, a deputation
was forthwith sent to it from Dumfries soliciting assistance. Before the
application was made, the gathering was partially dispersed; but the
deputy-lieutenants and other gentlemen, about fifty in all, proceeded to
the town that night, and expresses were despatched to various quarters,
which had the effect of bringing to it next day numerous volunteers from
both Nithsdale and Galloway. As showing the promptitude with which the
appeal of the Dumfriesians was responded to, it is worthy of notice that
Captain Hugh Fullerton, Provost of Kirkcudbright, Mr. Samuel Ewart, and
Sergeant Currie, set out from thence with a company of foot on the morning
of the 12th of October, and arrived at their destination that night,
though twenty-eight miles of bad road lay between the two towns; whilst
Abrahm Creighton of Gareland, Provost of Sanquhar - who was later in
receiving a notice of how matters stood-hearing a vague rumour on the 14th
that the enemy had invested Dumfries, called out a company of foot,
mounted them on country horses, and arrived at their head without drawing
bridle-the distance in this case being also twenty-eight miles.
Among others who appeared at the Locharbridge
rendezvous, was Sir James Johnstone of Westerhall, with a body of militia.
He had also provided a large supply of arms, seventeen stand of which,
temporarily left by him at Broadchapel, near Lochmaben, were seized and
carried off by a party of rebels, headed by none other than Viscount
Kenmure himself: so that it was no unfounded report which represented the
Jacobite chief as being in the district, bent on mischief. The exulting
captors of this unlooked-for and most welcome prize, after being
reinforced by some friends at Mid-Annandale, hurried northward to Moffat,
which they made their headquarters for a short while; and where they were,
that same night, joined by the Earl of Winton, with a party of gentlemen
and their followers from the Lothians.
On the 11th of this memorable month, when all
strangers appearing in the town were viewed with suspicion, the notorious
Simon, Lord Lovat, who had been out of the kingdom for several years,
arrived with a few friends, and was immediately apprehended. He declared
that the Marquis of Annandale would be ready to assure them of his
loyalty; and one of the magistrates, Bailie Currie, having gone to
Lochwood to consult the Marquis in the matter, returned with the request
that Lord Lovat should be detained till he saw him at Dumfries. Mr. Currie
also bore an order from the Lord-Lieutenant requiring the magistrates to
repair with an escort to his residence next day and conduct him to the
Burgh; as his lordship had been put to peril by Winton's party, and had
also narrowly escaped being intercepted by the rebels under Kenmure when
on their way through Upper Annandale.
Mr. Currie having delivered his message, the
town-crier proceeded through the principal streets at eleven o'clock that
night, and in the usual way warned such burgesses and residents as
possessed horses, to appear mounted and with their best arms at next beat
of drum. All that night through, great excitement prevailed; few of the
inhabitants closed their eyes; the windows looking into the leading
thoroughfares were illuminated, for the double purpose of supplying light
for the warlike muster, and affording a greater sense of security; [Rae's
History, p. 251.] and when, about an hour after midnight, the roll of the
drum again reverberated through the town, followed by the neighing of
steeds, the ring of their hoofs upon the pavement, as they hastened to the
Market Cross, the jangling of arms, and the less discordant calls of the
bugle, those of the lieges who did not know precisely how matters stood
might well be excused for believing that the dreaded enemy had, favoured
by the darkness, stolen a hurried march upon the town: and, sure enough,
the rebels had moved from Moffat soon after that terrible midnight hour,
for the purpose of attacking Dumfries, and would have carried their
resolution into effect had not discretion got the better of their valour.
The magistrates, putting themselves at the
head of the troop summoned under such exciting circumstances, proceeded to
Lochwood, returning next forenoon with the Lord-Lieutenant, who allowed
Lord Lovat to depart for the North on being satisfied of his steady
loyalty to King George. They came back in good time to have received the
rebels under Kenmure, if the latter had carried their designs into
execution. By two o'clock the enemy were within a mile and a half of the
town, exulting in the idea that they would soon be masters of it. They
just numbered one hundred and fifty-three-all horsemen; and must have been
kept in complete ignorance of the Dumfries preparations, or they would
never have moved out of Moffat with so slender a force on such an
undertaking. Hastening along, they would certainly have fallen into the
snare they were preparing for others, had they not learned from a sure
source that the Burgh, half full of armed men, was ready to give any
assailant, however powerful, a hot reception. With this unwelcome news
they were furnished in the following way. One afternoon a half-witted
rustic named James Robson presented himself at the rebel camp with the
curious intimation that he had come to make a present of his broad blue
bonnet to Lord Kenmure. Another similar head-piece is celebrated in song
as acquiring renown on account of its wearer:-
"It was na the bonnet, but the head that was
in it,
Made a' the warld talk o' Rab Roryson's bonnet."
But in this case it was really the bonnet, and
not its owner - "Daft Jamie" - that was of any consequence to Kenmure; and
the noble Viscount surmising as much, at once dissected the homely present
made to him, and found within its lining a letter from Lord Nithsdale
urging him to be off, as Dumfries was armed to the teeth. The bearer of
the warning note, unconscious of the service he was performing, had been
bribed to perform it by the Terregles people. How provoking the
intelligence he brought to the Jacobite leader and his friends,
dissipating, as it did, their dream of conquest like a column of mist! So
far from their being on the point of seizing the chief town of the South,
they were in deadly danger of being captured themselves.
Some of the more
adventurous of the party were for making a stand, in the expectation that
many friends would flock to their aid, and that, when thus reinforced,
they might after all make a bold dash at Dumfries with some likelihood of
success. Viscount Kenmure, however, who best knew the feeling of the town,
and fully realized the consequences of failure, paid no heed to such
foolish counsels ; and declared emphatically that he feared too truly the
place was defended by gallant gentlemen, and that he would therefore defer
his intended visit to it. Thereupon he ordered his force to wheel about
and retire to Lochmaben. Whilst going to that burgh they captured Bailie
Paterson, Mr. Johnston, postmaster, and Mr. Hunter, surgeon, who had been
sent from Dumfries to reconnoitre them. The prisoners were civilly
treated, and set at liberty on the Burgh agreeing to liberate three of
their friends who had been seized as suspected Jacobites.
When it was known in Dumfries that the rebels
were so near at hand, the entrances were barricaded, earth-work
entrenchments were formed, the guards were strengthened, and the trained
bands were called out; and had the enemy numbered thousands instead of
scores, they would have encountered a stout resistance. Just when the
inhabitants expected that the threatened onset would be made, word was
brought that the rebels had called a halt, and then that they had beat a
retreat. "Let us follow and give them battle!" was the general cry. "Not
so," said the wary Lord-Lieutenant; and so excessively cautious was he,
that when a party of gentlemen, headed by Lord Lovat, asked leave to set
out and surprise the enemy next day at Lochmaben, he refused his consent,
declaring that under existing circumstances a defensive policy was the
best. Fearing that
the people's anxiety for aggressive measures might prompt them to some
rash movement, he summoned to his residence the ministers, who had much
influence with them, and there pointed out the hazards that would be run
if in a premature encounter the rebels should be victorious. " They would
then," he said, " readily get possession of Dumfries, and might justly
give out that they were masters of the south of Scotland-an announcement
that would encourage their friends all around to join them, and a force
would be raised that might endanger the Government. If," continued his
lordship, speaking in a style worthy of his ancestry, "the people will
only be patient till things are in proper order, I shall go forth at their
head, and venture my life and lands in assisting them to defend our
religion, our country, and our king." He closed by intreating his clerical
hearers to impress these sentiments on the inhabitants. He had an
opportunity of doing so himself when reviewing them at the Moat a few days
afterwards; and so effective was his address, that it was greeted with a
round of hearty cheers. [Rae's History, pp. 253-4.] Probably the
Lord-Lieutenant was not aware at the time of the numerical weakness of the
rebels, or he would really have attempted to capture them in their retreat
- no very rash venture: failure would not, as he fancied, have involved
the loss of the town; and success would have been a death-blow to the
Pretender's cause in Dumfriesshire.
Though the Earl of Nithsdale was fully
committed to it, comparatively few of his dependants took part in the
Rebellion, and many of them enrolled themselves as loyal volunteers. Soon
after the arrival of the Lord-Lieutenant, he took steps to overawe the
Maxwell tenantry in Carlaverock parish-a large proportion of whom were
Roman Catholics, and therefore deemed more likely to favour Prince James.
Mr. John Sommerville, minister of the parish, was ordered to remove the
Back-bridge of the Isle, in order to cut off the communication between the
tenants and the rebels in Galloway and the Western Border; and Mr. Patrick
Linn, one of the Dumfries ministers, was empowered to co-operate with his
brother clergymen in maintaining a guard at Bankend, near to where
Carlaverock parish joins that of Dumfries. "As my Lord Nithsdale's tenants
in Carlaverock," says Rae, "so likewise his other tenants in Troqueer,
Terregles, and Kirkgunzeon, with those of the Viscount of Kenmure and Earl
of Carnwath, were in arms at Dumfries, and manifested a great deal of zeal
against the Rebellion; nor were there any with these noblemen in the
Rebellion but two or three domestic servants with each. And this I thought
just to make known to the candid reader, to wipe off a calumny cast upon
these people by a late historian [Mr. Patten] who was also a rebel, who
speaking of the chiefs in Scotland, and what men they could raise, says
--'The Earl of Nithsdale, 300 men, with their chief, against the
Government; the Earl of Carnwath, 300 men, most with their chief, against
the Government, and in the Rebellion: and the same he affirms of the
Viscount Kenmure." [History, pp. 256-7]
When Lord Kenmure, with his small party of
followers, reached Lochmaben, on the evening of Thursday the 13th, he
caused the Pretender to be proclaimed at the Market Cross of the burgh. On
the approach of the unwelcome visitors, the inhabitants placed their
cattle in a fold to make room for their horses, which arrangement led to a
ludicrous episode. The cattle, not liking their unwonted quarters, broke
through the enclosure, and some of them strayed into a townsman's yard
during the dusk of the following morning. " Help!" cried the owner of the
invaded territory, at the top of his voice, "Help! Help! Help!" This was
simply a summons to his dog, which bore that name ; but the terrified
sentries, interpreting the word differently, sounded an alarm-their belief
being that the Dumfries loyalists had entered Lochmaben. In the utmost
consternation, the rebels-many of them only half-dressedprepared to
evacuate the town; and it was some time before the mistake was discovered,
and order restored. Rae, who has probably exaggerated this incident, seems
to have relished it vastly. Some of the terrified troopers, he tells us,
"cut up their boots, in haste to get them on;" others, who could not get
their horses in an instant, left them that they might flee on foot; and
some, who managed to mount their chargers, "almost dropt off for fear."
[Ibid., p. 254] Next day, at Ecclefechan, the rebels were nearly thrown
into another panic, by the sudden arrival of a party of fifteen horsemen.
These, however, proved to be friends, not assailants; their leader, Sir
Patrick Maxwell of Springkell, [The Maxwells of Springkell are a branch of
the Auldhouse family, of which Maxwell of Pollok is the senior
representative. George Maxwell of Auldhouse had by his first wife one son,
whose son succeeded to the Pollok estates. By his second wife, Jane,
daughter of William Muir of Glanderstone, he had, among other issue, a
son, William, who acquired in 1609 the barony of Kirkconnel (scene of Fair
Helen's tragical fate), and Sprinkell, in Annandale. His son, Patrick, it
was who joined the rebel army in 1715. Patrick was created a Nova Scotia
baronet in 1683. Lieutenant-General Sir John Maxwell, the fourth baronet
in direct descent from him, married Mary, only surviving child and heiress
of Patrick Heron of Heron, in the Stewartry; and on the death of his
father-in-law, he added the surname and arms of Heron to his own. His
eldest son, Sir Patrick Heron Maxwell, who succeeded him, died unmarried
in 1844, and was succeeded by the present baronet, Sir John Heron Maxwell,
born in 1808.] having brought them to prove his devoted attachment to the
interests of the Prince.
The Jacobites, continuing their march, entered
Langholm on the 15th, Hawick on the 16th, Jedburgh on the 17th; obtaining
considerable reinforcements as they went along, and proclaiming the
Pretender at all these towns. On the 18th they crossed the Border; on the
19th they joined their north of England friends at Rothbury, the united
forces proceeding next day to Wooler. Here they waited two nights, and
having re-entered Scotland, effected a junction with a body of
Highlanders, under Brigadier M`Intosh, on the 22nd, at Kelso, by which
means their strength was raised to two thousand men. |
