This celebrated adherent of
the Chevalier was born in the year 1705. He was the fifth son of John
Duke of Atholl, and the younger brother of that Marquis of Tullibardine.
whose biography has been already given.
The family of Atholl had
attained a degree of power and influence in Scotland, which almost
raised them out of the character of subjects. It was by consummate
prudence, not unattended with a certain portion of time-serving, that,
until the period 1715, the high position which these great nobles held
had been in seasons of political difficulty preserved. Their political
principles were those of indefeasible right ami hereditary monarchy.
John, first Marquis of Atholl, the father of Lord George Murray, married
Amelia Stanley, daughter of Charlotte De la Tremouille, Countess of
Derby, whose princely extraction, to borrow a phrase of high value n
genealogical histories, was the least of her merits. This celebrated
woman was remarkable for the virtue and piety of her ordinary life ;
and, when the season of trial and adversity called it forth, she
displayed the heroism which becomes the hour of adversity. Her
well-known defence of Latham House in 1644 from the assaults of the
Parliamentarian forces, and her protracted maintenance of the Isle of
Man, the last place in the English dominions that submitted to the
Parliament, were followed by a long and patient endurance of penury and
imprisonment.
The Marquis of Atholl was
consistent in that adherence to the Stuarts which the family of his wife
had professed. He advocated the succession of James the Second, and was
rewarded with the royal confidence. Indeed, such was the partiality of
the King towards him, that had the Marquis "in this sale of favour," as
an old writer expresses it, "not been firm and inflexible in the point
of his religion, which he could not sacrifice to the pleasure of any
mortal, he might have been the first minister for Scotland." After the
Revolution, the Marquis retired into the country, and relinquished all
public business; thus signifying his opinion of that event.
He bequeathed to his son,
John second Marquis of Atholl. and the father of Lord George Murray, as
great a share of prosperity and as many sources of self-exultation as
ordinarily fall to the lot of one man. To the blood of the Murrays, the
marriage with Lady Amelia Stanley had added a connection in kindred with
the Houses of Bourbon and Austria, with the Kings of Spain and Duke of
Savoy, the Prince of Orange, and most of the crowned heads in Europe.
Upon the extinction of the descendants of John the seventh Earl of
Derby, commonly called the loyal Earl of Derby, and of his wife
Charlotte De La Tremouille, "all that great and uncommon race of royal
and 'Illustrious blood," as it has been entitled, centred in the
descendants of the Marquis of Atholl. In 1720, the barony of Strange
devolved upon the Duke of Atholl; and the principality of the Isle of
Man was also bequeathed to the same House by William ninth Earl of
Derby. This was the accession of a later period, but was the consequence
of that great and honourable alliance of which the family of Atholl
might justly boast.
The father of Lord George
Murray adopted every precaution, as we have seen, to preserve the
acquisitions of dignity and fortune which the lapse of years had added
to his patrimonial possessions. Sixteen coats of arms, eight on the
paternal side, and eight on the maternal side, had composed the
escutcheon of his father, John Marquis of Atholl. Among those great
names on the maternal side, which graced a funeral escutcheon, which has
been deemed the pattern and model of perfect dignity, and the perfection
of ducal grandeur, was the name of the Prince of Orange. This plea of
kindred was not thrown away upon the Marquis of Atholl; he declared
himself for King William, and entered early nto the Revolution. For this
service he was rewarded with the office of High Commissioner to
represent his Majesty in the Scottish parliament. But subsequent events
broke up this compact, and destroyed all the cordiality which subsisted
between William and the head of the House of Atholl The refusal of the
King to own the African Company was, it is said, the reason why the
Marquis withdrew himself from Court, and remained at a distance from it
during the lifetime of William.
The accession of Anne
brought, at first, fresh honours to this powerful Scottish nobleman He
was created in 1704 a Duke, and was made Privy Seal: but the politics of
the Court party changed ; the Duke of Atholl was dismissed from the
Ministry, and he became henceforth a warm opponent of all the Government
measures. He spoke with boldness, yet discretion, against the Union; and
protested against a measure which, as he conceived, gave up all the
dignity and antiquity of the kingdom.
During his proud career,
a marriage with Katherine, the daughter of William Duke of Hamilton, a
lady of great prudence, and of eminent piety and virtue, added to the
high consideration of the Duke of Atholl. Of this nobleman, certain
historians have left the highest character. "He was," says Nisbet, "of
great parts, but far greater virtues; of a lively apprehension, a clear
and ready judgment, a copious eloquence, and of a very considerable
degree of good understanding."* It is difficult to reconcile this
description with the intrigues and bitterness which characterise the
Duke of Atholl, in Lovat's narrative of their rivalry ; nor would it be
easy to reconcile the public report of many men with the details of
their private failings. That, however, which has impugned the
consistency and sincerity of the Duke of Atholl far more than the
representations of Lovat, is the belief that, whilst his feelings were
engaged in one cause, his professions were loud in upholding the other;
that he was double and self-interested; and that he saved his vast
estates from forfeiture by an act of policy which, might, in some
bearings, be regarded as duplicity, in proof of which it is asserted,
that, whilst he pretended to condemn the conduct of his eldest son in
joining the Rebellion of 1715, he was the chief instigator of that step.
Such was the father to whom Lord George Murray owed his birth.
During the unbroken
prosperity of his House, the future General of the Jacobite army was
born He was the fifth son of eight children, borne by the first Duchess
of Atholl, and was born in the year 1705. Of these, John the eldest, and
presumptive heir to the dukedom, had been ki1 led at the battle of Mons,
or Malplaquet, in 1709. lie was a youth of great promise, and his death
was a source of deep lamentation to his father; a sorrow which
subsequent events did not, perhaps, tend to alleviate. William. Marquis
of Tullibardine, was therefore regarded as the next heir to all the vast
possessions and ancestral dignities of his House. His faithful adherence
to the Chevalier St. George, and the part which he adopted in the
Rebellion of 1715, produced a revolution in the affairs of his family,
which, one may suppose, could not be effected without some delicacy, and
considerable distress.
In 1716 the Marquis of
Tullibardine was attainted by an act passed in the first year of George
the First; and by a bill, which was passed in the House of Commons
relating to the forfeited estates, all these estates were vested in his
Majesty from and after the twenty-fourth of January 1715. Upon this bill
being passed, the Duke of Atholl, who had been residing for many years
with the splendour and state of a prince at his Castle at Blair Atholl,
journeyed to London, and, being graciously received by George the First,
he laid his case before that monarch, representing the unhappy
circumstances of his son, and pointing out what effect and influence
this might have, in the event of his own death, on the succession of his
family, if his estate and honour were not vested in law upon his second
son, Lord James Murray, who had performed very signal service to his
Majesty in the late rebellion. This petition was received, and a bill
was brought into parliament for vesting the honours of John Duke of
Atholl in James Murray, Esq., commonly called Lord James Murray; and, as
a reward of his steady loyalty, a law was passed, enacting that the act
of attainder against William Marquis of Tullibardine should not be
construed to extend to Lord James Murray or his issue. In consequence of
this bill, on the death of the Duke of Atholl, in 1724, Lord James
Murray succeeded to all those honours and estates, which had thus been
preserved through the prudence of his father, and the clemency or policy
of the King.
In this divided House was
Lord George Murray reared. It soon appeared that he possessed the
decision and lofty courage of his ancestry; and that his early
predilections, in which probably his father secretly coincided, were all
in favour of the Stuarts, and that no considerations of self-interest
could draw him from that adherence.
The events of 1715
occurring when Lord George Murray was only ten years of age, his first
active exertions in the cause of the Stuarts did not take place until a
later period. In the interim, the youth, who afterwards distinguished
himself so greatly, served his first apprenticeship to arms in the
British forces in Flanders. In 1719, when only fourteen years of age, a
fresh plan of invasion being formed by Spain, and the Marquis of
Tullibardine having again ventured to join in the enterprise, Lord
George showed plainly his attachment to the Jacobite cause. He came over
with the Marquis, with a small handful of Spaniards, and was wounded at
the battle of Glenshiels on the tenth of June. Of his fate after that
event, the following account has been given by Wodrow,* who prefaces his
statement with a congratulatory remark that several of the Jacobites
were by their sufferings converted from their error. "At Glenshiels," he
writes, referring to Lord George Murray, "he escaped, and with a servant
got away among the Highland mountains, and lurked in a hut made for
themselves for some months, and saw nobody. It was a happy Providence
that either he or his servant had a Bible, and no other books. For want
of other business, he carefully read that neglected book, and the Lord
blessed it with his present hard circumstances to him. Now he begins to
appear abroad, and it is said is soon to be pardoned; and he is highly
commended not only for a serious convert from Jacobitism, hut for a good
Christian, and a youth of excellent parts, hopes, and expectations."
It appears, however, that
Lord George, however he might be changed in his opinions, did not
consider himself safe in Scotland. He fled to the Continent, and entered
the service of Sardinia, then, in consequence of the quadruple alliance,
allotted to the possessions of the Duke of Savoy.
Meantime, through the
influence of his family, and. perhaps, on the plea of his extreme youth
when he had engaged in the battle of Glenshiels, a pardon was obtained
for the young soldier. His father, as is related in the manuscript
account of the Highlands before quoted, "had found it his interest to
change sides at the accession of George the First." His second brother,
as he was now called, James Murray, or Marquis of Tullibardine, was a
zealous supporter of the Hanoverian Government, although it proved no
easy matter to engage his Clan iu the same cause.
During many succeeding
years, while Lord George Murray was ser\ ing abroad, cultivating those
military acquirements which afterwards, whilst they failed to redeem his
party from ruin, extorted the admiration of every competent judge, the
progress of events was gradually working its way towards a second great
attempt to restore the Stuarts.
Notwithstanding the
apparent tranquillity of the Chevalier St. George, he. had been
continually though cautiously maintaining, during his residence at
Albano, as friendly an intercourse with the English visitors to Home as
circumstances would permit, Most young men of family and condition
travelled, during the time of peace, in Italy; many were thus the
opportunities which occurred of conciliating these youthful scions of
great and influential families. As one instance of this fact, the
account given by Joseph Spence, the author of the "Anecdotes" and of "Polymetis,"
affords a curious picture of the eagerness evinced by James and his
wife, during the infancy of their son, to ingraft his infant mage on the
memory, and affections of the English. Mr. Spence visited Rome while
Charles Edward was yet in his cradle. He was expressly enjoined by his
father, before his departure from England, on no account to be
introduced to the Chevalier. Yet such were the advances made to him, as
his own letter* will show, that it was almost impossible for him to
resist the overture: and similar overtures were made to almost every
Englishman of family or note who visited Rome at that period.
In addition to these
efforts, a continual correspondence was maintained between James and his
Scottish adherents. The Chevalier's greatest accomplishment was his art
of writing letters; and he appears eminently to have excelled in that
power of conciliation which was so essential in his circumstance.
Meantime Charles grew up,
justifying, as he increased in stature, and as his disposition revealed
itself, the most ardent expectations of those who wished well to Ids
cause. One failing he very ear, evinced ; that remarkable devotion to
certain favourites which marked the conduct of his ancestors ; and the
partiality was more commonly built upon the adulation bestowed by those
favourites than founded in reason.
It was in the year 1741
that the royal youth, then scarcely nineteen years of age, became
acquainted with a man whose qualities of mind, and attractions of
manner, exercised a very considerable influence over his destiny ; and
whose character, pliant, yet bitter, intriguing and perfidious, came
afterwards into a painful collision with the haughty overbearing temper,
and manly sincerity, of Lord George Murray.
It was in consequence of
the practice adopted by some of the hangers-on of the Chevalier's court,
of luring young English or Scottish strangers to its circles, that John
Murray of Broughton, afterwards Secretary to Prince Charles, was first
introduced to the young Chevalier. Murray was the son of Sir David
Murray, Bart., by his second wife, a daughter of Sir David Scott of
Ancruni he was at this time only twenty-three years of age, and he
had lately completed his studies at Edinburgh, where he had gone through
a course of philosophy, and studied the civil and municipal laws. The
report which prevailed that ill'. Murray had been educated with the
young Chevalier was untrue ; it was by the desire of his mother, Lady
Murray, that he first, in 1741, visited both France and Italy, and
perfected himself in the language of those countries, then by no means
generally attained by Scotchmen.
Mr. Murray had been
brought up In the principles of the Episcopal Church, and therefore
there was less reason, than there would have been in the ease of a Roman
Catholic, to apprehend his being beguiled into an intimate connection
with the exiled Stuarts. He had not, however, been long in Rome before
he was asked by an acquaintance whether he had seen the Santi Apostoli,
as the palace of the Chevalier was called. On answering in the negative,
he was assured that, through a knowledge of some of the servants, a
sight might be obtained of the palace; and also of the Protestant
chapel, in which, as Mr. Murray heard with great surprise, the Chevalier
allowed service to be performed for such of the retinue of the young
Prince as were of the Protestant persuasion. It was also alleged that
this indulgence was with the cognizance of the Pope, who, in order to
remove the barrier which prevented the Stuarts from enjoying the crow n
of England, was willing to allow Charles Edward to be brought up as a
Protestant. This assertion was further confirmed by the fact, that the
noblemen, Lord Inverness and Lord Dunbar, who had the charge of Charles
Edward, were both Protestants; a choice on the part of James which had
produced all that contention between himself and the Princess Clementina,
with the details of which the Courts of Europe were entertained.
The family and retinue of
the Chevalier St. George being then at Albano, Mr. Murray was able to
gratify his curiosity, and to inspect the chapel, which had neither
crucifix, confessional, nor picture in it, —only an altar,—and was not
to be distinguished from an English chapel; and here English divines
officiated. Here, it is said, whilst at his devotions, a slight accident
occurred, which nourished a belief in presages in the mind of Charles
Edward. A small piece of the ceiling, ornamented with flowers in
fretwork, fell into his lap; it was discovered to he a thistle : soon
afterwards, another of these ornaments became detached, and fell also
into his lap ; this proved to be a rose. Such omens, coupled with the
star of great magnitude which astronomers asserted to have appeared at
his nativity, were, it was thought, not without their effect on the
hopes and conduct of the young Prince. One can hardly, however, do him
so much injustice as to suppose that such could be the case.
Mr. Murray expressed, it
is affirmed, a considerable degree of curiosity to see the Chevalier and
his two sons, who were both highly extolled for their natural gifts and
graces ; the wish was communicated, and, acting upon the principle of
attracting all comers to the Court, was soon realised: a page was sent,
intimating that Mr. Murray's attendance would be well received, and he
was, by an order from the Chevalier, graciously admitted to kiss hands.
Such was the commencement of that acquaintance which afterwards proved
so fatal to the interests of Prince Charles, and so disgraceful to the
cause of the Jacobites. Such was the introduction of the young Prince to
the man who subsequently betrayed his companions in misfortune. This
step was shortly followed by an intimacy which, probably in the
commencement, was grounded upon mutual good-will. Men become perfidious
by slow degrees ; and perform actions, as they advance in life, which
they would blush to reflect on in the day-dawn of their honest youth.
This account is, however,
derived from the statements of an anonymous writer, evidently an
apologist for the errors of Mr, Murray, and is contradicted so far as
the sudden conversion of the young Scotchman to the cause of the
Stuarts, by the fact that he had all his life been a violent Jacobite.f
On the other hand, it is alleged by Mr. Murray's champion, that his
feelings and affections, rather than his reason, were quickly engaged in
the cause of the Chevalier, from his opportunities of knowing intimately
the personal qualities of the two royal brothers, Charles Edward and
Henry Benedict. He was, moreover, independent of circumstances: being in
the enjoyment of a fortune of three or four hundred a year, which was
considered a sufficient independence for a younger brother, and
therefore interest, it is alleged, could not have been on inducement to
his actions.
"Whether from real
admiration, or from a wish to disseminate in Scotland a favourable
impression of the Stuart Princes, it is difficult to decide; but Mr.
Murray, in 1742, dispatched to a lady in Scotland, who had requested him
to describe personages of so great interest to the Jacobites, the
following, perhaps, not exaggerated portrait of what Charles Edward was
in the days of his youth, and before he had left the mild influence of
his father's house.
"Charles Edward, the
eldest son of the Chevalier de St. George, is tall, above the common
stature; his limbs are cast in the exact mould, his complexion has in it
somewhat of an uncommon delicacy; all his features are perfectly
regular, well turned, and his eyes the finest I ever saw; hut that which
shines most in him, and renders him without exception the most
surprisingly handsome person of the age, is the dignity that accompanies
his every gesture; there is, indeed, such an unspeakable majesty
diffused throughout his whole mien and air, as it is impossible to have
any idea of without seeing, and strikes those that do with such an awe,
as w ill not suffer them to look upon him for any time, unless he
emboldens them to it by his excessive affability.
"Thus much, madam, as to
the person of this Prince. His mind, by all I can judge of it, is no
less worthy of admiration; he seems to me, and 1 find to all who know
him, to have all the good nature of the Stuart family blended with the
spirit of the Sobieskys. He is, at least as far as I am capable of
seeing into men, equally qualified to preside in peace and war. As for
his learning, it is extensive beyond what could be expected from double
the number of his years. He speaks most of the European languages with
the same ease and fluency as if each of them were the only one he knew;
is a perfect master of all the different kinds of Latin, understands
Greek very well, and is not altogether ignorant of Hebrew; history and
philosophy are his darling entertainments, in both which he is well
versed; the one he says will instruct him how to govern others, and the
other how to govern himself\ whether in prosperous or adverse fortune.
Then for his courage, that was sufficiently proved at the siege of Gaita,
where though scarcely arrived at the age of fifteen, he performed such
things as in attempting made his friends and his enemies alike tremble,
though for different motives. What he is ordained for, we must leave to
the Almighty, who alone disposes all; but he appears to be born and
endowed for something very extraordinary.'"
It was not long before
Mr. Murray perceived that, although James Stuart had given up all hopes
of the English crown for himself, he still cherished a desire of
regaining it for his son. Scotland was of course the object of all
future attempts, according to the old proverb:
"He that would England
win,
Must with Scotland first begin."
The project of an
invasion, if not suggested by Murray, as has been stated, was soon
communicated to him; and his credit attained to such an extent, that he
was appointed by the Chevalier, at the request of Prince Charles, to be
secretary for Scottish affairs. At the latter end of the year 1742 he
was sent to Paris, where he found an emissary of the Stuarts, Mr. Kelly,
who was negotiating in their behalf at the Court of France. Here Murray
communicated with Cardinal Tencin, the successor of Cardinal Fleury, in
the management of the affairs of the Chevalier, and here he met the
exiled Marquis of Tullibardine, who, notwithstanding his losses and
misfortunes in the year 1715, was still sanguine of ultimate success.
Here, too, was the unfortunate Charles Radcliffe, who, with others once
opulent, once independent, were now forced to submit to receive, with
many indignities in the payment, pensions from the French Government. It
was easy to inflame the minds of persons so situated with false hopes:
and Murray is said to have been indefatigable in the prosecution of his
scheme. After a delay of three weeks in Paris, he set off on that
memorable undertaking to engage the Clans, which ultimately ended in the
insurrection of 1745.
Lord George Murray,
meantime, had returned to his native country, where he was presented to
George the Second, and solicited, but ineffectually, a commission in the
British army. This was refused, and the ardour in the Stuart cause,
which we may presume to have wavered, again revived in its original
vigour.
Previous to the
Insurrection of 1745, Lord George Murray married Amelia, the only
surviving child and heiress of James Murray of Glencarse and Strowan, a
lady who appears, both from the terms of affection and respect expressed
towards her by the Marquis of Tullibardine, and from the tenour of her
own letters, to have coincided w armly in the efforts of her husband for
the restoration of the Stuarts. Five children were the issue of this
marriage.
The course which public
affairs were now taking checked, however, completely all hopes of
domestic felicity. After several unsuccessful negotiations in Paris
attempted by the agents of James Stuart, and in London by Lord Elcho,
the scheme of invasion languished for some time. Whilst all was
apparently secure, however, the metropolis was the scene of secret
cabals and meetings of the Jacobites, sometimes at one place, sometimes
at another; but unhappily for their cause, the party generally wanted
compactness and discretion. "The little Jacobites," as those who were
not in the secret of these mamouvres were called, began to flatter
themselves that a large army would land in England from France that
summer. Nor was it the policy of Government to check these reports,
which strengthened the hands of the ministry, and procured a grant of
the supplies with alacrity. The Jacobites, meantime, ran from house to
house, intoxicated with their anticipated triumphs; and such chance of
success as there might be was thus rendered abortive.
The year 1743 ended,
however; and the visions of the Jacobites vanished into air. Donald
Cameron of Lochiel, the elder, who visited Paris for the purpose of
ascertaining what were the real intentions of the French cabinet, found
that even the Cardinal Tencin did not think it yet time for the attempt,
and he returned to Scotland disheartened. The death of the Cardinal
Fleury in 1743 added to the discomfiture of his hopes.* Above all, the
reluctance of the English Jacobites to pledge themselves to the same
assurances that had been given by the Scotch, and their shyness in
conversing with the people who were sent from France or Scotland on the
subject, perplexed the emissaries who arrived in this country, and
offered but a faint hope of their assistance from England.
But, in the ensuing year,
the affairs of the Jacobites brightened; France, which had suspended her
favours, once more encouraged and flattered the party. A messenger was
dispatched to the palace of Albano, to acquaint the Chevalier that the
day was now arrived when his views might be expected to prosper; whilst
at the same time the utmost pains were taken by the French Government to
appear to the English averse to the pretensions of James Stuart. It
affords, indeed, another trait of the unfortunate tendency of the Stuart
family to repose a misplaced confidence, that they should have relied on
professions so hollow and so vague as those of France. But the dependent
and desolate situation of that Prince may well be supposed to have
blinded a judgment not ripened by any active participation in the
general business of life, and narrowed within his little Court. Besides,
there remained some who, after the conflict at Culloden was over, could
even view the enterprise as having been by no means unsuspicious. "Upon
the whole," writes Maxwell of Kirkconnel, "the conjuncture seemed
favourable; and it is not to be wondered that a young Prince, naturally
brave, should readily lay hold of it. There was a prospect of recalling
his father from an exile nearly as long as his life, saving his country
from impending ruin, and restoring both to the enjoyment of their
rights."
Great preparations were
in fact actually made by the French Government for the invasion of Great
Britain. The young Prince, who was forthwith summoned from Rome, was to
land in the Highlands and head the Clans; Lord John Drummond, it was
arranged, should make a descent on the southern part of the island, and
endeavour to join the young Chevalier, and march towards Edinburgh.
Twelve thousand French were to pour into Wales at the same time, under
the command of a general who was never named, and to join such English
insurgents as should rally to their assistance.
This scheme, had it been
executed with promptness, might perhaps have prospered better than, in
these later times, in the security of an undisturbed succession, we are
inclined to allow. General discontents prevailed in England. The
partiality which had been shown to the Hanoverian troops in preference
to the English at the battle of Dettingen had irritated, if not
alienated, the affections of the army. The King and the Duke of
Cumberland were abroad, and a small number of ships only guarded the
coast. Parliament was not sitting ; and most of the members both of the
Lords and Commons, and of the Privy Council, were at their
country-seats. But the proper moment for the enterprise was lost by
delays, and the same opportunity never again occurred.
Meantime, the young
Prince who was to influence the destiny of so many brave men,
accompanied by his brother, left Rome furtively, under pretext of going
to hunt at Cisterna. A tender affection,cemented by their adversities,
existed between James Stuart and his sons. As they parted from each
other with tears and em-bracings, the gallant Charles Edward exclaimed,
"I go to claim your right to three crowns: If I fail," he added
earnestly, "your next sight of me, sir, shall be in my coffin" "My son,"
exclaimed the Chevalier, "Heaven forbid that all the crowns in the world
should rob me, of my child." Mr. Murray of Broughton was present at this
interview; the prelude to disasters and dangers to the ardent young man,
and of anxieties and disappointments to his father, feelingly depicted
in the Chevalier's touching letters to his children.
By a stratagem the young
Prince effected his journey from Rome without its becoming known, and
eleven days after Ids departure from that city elapsed before it was
made public. He was accompanied by Henry Benedict, who was at this time
a youth of great promise. He is described as having had, as well as his
brother, a very fine person, though somewhat shorter in stature than
that ill-fated young man, and of a less delicate complexion. lie seems
to have been, perhaps, better constituted for the career of difficulty
which Charles Edward encountered. He was of a robust form, with an
unusual fire in his eyes. Whilst his brother united the different
qualities of the Stuart and the Sobieski, Henry Benedict is said to have
been more entirely actuated by the spirit of his great ancestor. King
John of Poland; by whom, and the handful of Christians whom he headed, a
hundred and fifty thousand Turks were defeated. Even when only nine
years of age, the high-spirited boy, whose martial qualities were
afterwards subdued beneath the taming influence of a Cardinal's hat,
resented the refusal of his father to allow him to accompany his brother
to assist the young King of Naples ia the recovery of his dominions; and
could only be pacified by the threat of having his garter, the beloved
insignia of English knighthood, taken from him as well as his sword.
It soon became evident
that the designs of France were not unknown at St. James's. The
celebrated Chauvelin, Secretary of State to Louis the Fifteenth, had
long been employing his influence over the Cardinal Fleury to counteract
the wishes of the English. By a slight accident his designs were
disclosed to Queen Caroline. Chauvelin had, unintentionally, among other
papers, put into the hands of the Earl of Waldegrave, then ambassador in
France, a letter from the Chevalier. Lord Waldegrave immediately sent -t
to Queen Caroline. This involved a long correspondence between Sir
Robert "Walpole and Waldegrave on the subject. "Jacobitism," to borrow
the language of Dr. Cox, "at this time produced a tremor through every
nerve of Government; and the slightest incident that discovered any
intercourse between the Pretender and France occasioned the most serious
apprehensions." The spirit of insurrection and discontent had long
pervaded not only the capital, which was disturbed by frequent tumults,
but the country; and the murder of Porteous in Edinburgh, in 1736, was
proved only to be the result of a regular systematic plan of resistance
to the Government.
The death of Queen
Caroline deprived the oppressed Jacobites in both kingdoms of their only
friend at Court. The unfortunate of all modes of faith met, indeed, with
protection and beneficence from that excellent Princess. Those Roman
Catholics, whose zeal for the Stuart cause had exposed them to the
rigour of the law, were succoured by her bounty; large sums were sent by
her to the indigent and ruined •Jacobite families; and Sir Robert
Walpole, who was greatly disturbed at this show of mercy to the
delinquent party, truly exclaimed, "that the Jacobites had a ready
access to the Queen by the backstairs, and that all attempts to suppress
them would be ineffectual." The last efforts of Walpole, then Lord
Orford, were exerted to warn the country of the danger to be feared in
that second invasion, for prognosticating which he had so often been
severely ridiculed. He alluded to "the greatest power in Europe, which
was setting up a Pretender to the throne; the winds alone having
hindered an invasion and protected Britain." He warned the Lords, that
the rebellion which he anticipated would be "fought on British ground."
The memorable oration in which he unfolded these sentiments, which were
delivered with great emotion, touched the heart of Frederic Prince of
Wales; who arose, quitted his seat, and, taking Lord Orford by the hand,
expressed his acknowledgments^ That warning was the last effort of one
sinking under an excruciating disease, and to whose memory the tragedy
of 1715 must still have been present.
Charles Edward, to whose
ill-omened attempts to sail from Dunkirk, Walpole had thus alluded, had
borne that disastrous endeavour with a fortitude which augured well for
his future powers of endurance. Mr. Maxwell thus describes his
commencement of the voyage. "Most of the troops," he says, "were already
embarked, when a furious storm dispersed the ships of war, and drove the
transports on the coast: the troops already embarked Avere glad to gain
the shore, having lost some of their number. It is hardly possible to
conceive a greater disappointment than that which the Prince met with on
this occasion. How severely soever he might feel rt, lie did not seem
dejected; oil the contrary, he was in appearance cheerful and easy;
encouraged such of his friends as seemed most deeply affected, telling
them Providence would furnish him with other occasions of delivering his
father's subjects, and making them happy. Immediately after this
disaster the expedition was given up, and the Prince returned to Paris,
where he lived incognito till he set out for Scotland. Not long after
his return to Paris, war was declared betwixt France and England, which
gave him fresh hopes that something would be undertaken. But after
several months, seeing no appearance, he grew very impatient, and began
to think of trying his fortune with such friends as would follow him: he
was sick of the obscure way he was in; he thought himself neglected by
the court of France, but could not bear the thoughts of returning to
Rome. He had heard much of the loyalty and bravery of the Scotch
Highlanders; but the number of those Clans he could depend upon was too
inconsiderable to do anything effectual. While he was thus perplexed and
fluctuating, John Murray of Broughton arrived from Scotland."
In this emergency, the
flattering representations of Murray of Broughton found a ready response
in the young Prince's heart. Notwithstanding the assertions of that
individual in his evidence at Lovat's trial, that he had used every
means to dissuade the Prince from going to Scotland; it is expressly
stated by Mr Maxwell, + that he if advised the Prince, n his own name,
to come to Scotland at any rate; it was his opinion that the Prince
should come as well provided and attended as possible, but rather come
alone than delay coming; that those who had invited the Prince, and
promised to join him if lie came at the head of four or five thousand
regular troops, would do the same if he came without any troops at all;
in fine, that he had a very strong party in Scotland, and would have a
very good chance of succeeding. This was more than enough to determine
the Prince. The expedition was resolved upon, and Murray despatched to
Scotland with such orders and instructions as were thought proper at
that juncture.'''
Mr. Murray may therefore
be considered as in a great measure responsible for the event of that
proceeding, which he afterwards denounced as a "desperate undertaking."
He found, unhappily, ready instruments in the unfortunate Marquis of
Tullibardine, m Mr. Radclitfe, and others, whose fate he may thus be
considered to have hastened by his alluring representations of the
prospects of success.
When it was decided that
Charles Edward should throw himself on the loyalty of the Clans, and
intimation was given of the whole scheme, Lord George Murray prepared
for action. The landing of the Prince, the erection of a standard at
Glenfinin, the march through Lochiel, and the encampment between
Glengarry and Port Augustus, were events which he did not personally aid
by his presence. He was, indeed, busily employed in assembling his
father's tenantry; and it was not until the Prince arrived at Perth that
Lord George Murray was presented to him; he was almost immediately
created a Lieutenant-General in the Prince's service. His power in the
Highlands was, indeed, of a far greater extent than that millitary rank
would seem to imply; for, although the Marquis of Tullibardine was the
nominal commander in the North, to Lord George Murray was entrusted the
actual management of affairs; an arrangement with which the modest and
conscientious Tullibardine willingly complied.
The character of Lord
George might be considered as partly sobered by time; since, at the
commencement of the Rebellion of 1745, he was forty years of age. He was
in the full vigour, therefore, of his great natural and intellectual
powers, which, when at that period of life they have been ripened by
exercise ami experience, are perhaps at their zenith. The person of Lord
George was tall and robust ; he had the self-denial and energy of his
countrymen. He slept little, and entered into every description of
detail ; he was persevering m everything which he undertook; he was
vigilant, active, and diligent. To these qualities he IBM ted a natural
genius for military operations; and his powers were such, that it was
justly thought, that, had he been well instructed in military tactics,
he would have formed one of the ablest generals of the day. As it was,
the retreat from Derby, ill-advised as it may be deemed, is said to have
sufficiently manifested his skill as a commander.
In addition to these
attributes, Lord George was brave to the highest degree ; and, in all
engagements, was always the first to rush sword in hand into danger. As
he advanced to the charge, and looked round upon the Highlanders, whose
character he well understood, it was his practice to say, "I do not ask
you, my lads, to go before; but only to follow me.'" It cannot be a
matter of surprise, that, with this bold and resolute spirit, Lord
George was the darling of the. Highland soldiers ; and that his strong
influence over their minds should have enabled him to obviate, hi some
measure, the deficiencies of discipline. "Taking them," as a
contemporary writer asserts, " merely as they came from the plough, he
made them perform prodigies of valour against English armies, always
greatly superior in number to that of the Prince Charles Edward,
although the English troops are allowed to be the best in Europe." Thus
endowed, Lord George Murray showed how feeble are the advantages of
birth, compared with those of nature's gift. In rank, if not in family
connections, and in an hereditary hold upon the affections of his
countrymen, the Duke of Perth might be esteemed superior ; but, brave
and honourable as he was, that amiable nobleman could never obtain the
confidence of the army as a general. It is not, however, to be supposed
that any commander would ever have obtained an influence over a Highland
army, if he had not added high birth to his other requisites. The
Clansmen were especially aristocratic in their notions; and the names
which they had honoured and loved from their birth, were alone those to
which they would eagerly respond.
To counterbalance the
fine, soldierly characteristics which graced the lofty and heroic Lord
George Murray, some defects, of too stern a nature to be called
weaknesses, but yet indicative of narrowness of mind, clouded his
excellent qualities. Unlike most great men, he was not open to
conviction. That noble candour, which can bear counsels, or receive even
admonition with gratitude, was not a part of his haughty nature. A sense
of superiority over every human being rendered him impatient of the
slightest controul, and greedy of exclusive power. He was imperious and
determined; and was deficient in the courtesy which forms, combined with
honesty, so fine an attribute in a soldier's bearing. "He wanted," says
one who knew him well, "the sole ordering of everything."
At Perth, Lord George
Murray met with the famous Chevalier Johnstone, whom he soon adopted
into his service. This young soldier, whose pen has supplied memoirs of
the Rebellion of 1745, and upon whose statements much of the reported
merits of Lord George Murray rests, was the only son of a merchant in
Edinburgh, and the descendant of an ancient and well-connected family.
By the marriage of hiss sister he was nearly related to the House of
Rollo; and, from these and other circumstances, he mingled with the best
society in his native city.
Having been educated in
Jacobite and Episcopalian principles, young Johnstone hailed with
delight the arrival of Prince Charles: he resolved instantly to join his
standard. Escaping from Edinburgh, he hastened to Duncrub, the seat of
Lord Rollo, near Perth. Here he awaited the arrival of the young
Chevalier; and here he was introduced by his cousins, the daughters of
Lord Rollo, to the Duke of Perth and to Lord George Murray. The
Chevalier Johnstone was one of the first Low-countrymen that joined the
standard of Charles Edward.
Lord George Murray very
soon discovered that the requisites for forming a good soldier and an
active partizan were centred in young Johnstone. For the former he was
qualified by an open and impetuous character, generally combined with a
desperate courage. The jollity and licence of the Cavalier school, which
characterized Johnstone, did not materially detract from, but added
rather to the popularity of his character. As a partizan, he has proved
his zeal by his Memoirs, which afford a sample of much heat and
prejudice, and which have, in upholding Lord George Murray, done an
injury to the memory of Charles Edward, of which the adversaries of his
cause have not failed to take advantage. To many errors of character,
and to some egotism, the Chevalier Johnstone, as he came to be called in
afterlife, united a kind heart and an enthusiastic disposition. He acted
for a considerable time as aide-decamp to Lord George Murray, and
afterwards in the same capacity with the Prince. But hi? liveliest
admiration appears to have been directed towards the general who has
been classed with Montrose and Dundee,* and no subsequent service under
other masters ever effaced his impression of respect and confidence to
Lord George Murray. After the battle of Preston-Pans, Johnstone received
a captain's commission from the Prince: and, exhausted with his duties
as aide-decamp, he formed a company, with which he joined the Duke of
Perth's regiment. His history, mingled up as it is with that of the
General under whom he first served, must necessarily be incorporated
with the following narrative.
Lord George Murray
continued, for some time, busily engaged in rallying around him his
brother's vassals. The Duke of Atholl is partly proprietor, partly
superior, of the country which bears his name. That region is inhabited
by Stuarts and Robinsons, none of the Duke's name living upon his
estates. Of these, several have fiefs or mortgages of the Atholl family,
and command the common people of their respective Clans; but, like other
Highlanders, they believe that they are bound to rise in arms when the
chief of their whole Clan requires it. The vassals on the Atholl
territory were well-affected to the Stuarts, great pains having been
taken by the father of Lord George Murray, notwithstanding his efforts
to appear loyal to the Government, to infuse the spirit of Jacobitism
among them.
Of the events which
succeeded his joining the Prince's standard at Perth, until the
commencement, of the retreat from Derby, Lord George Murray has left a
succinct relation. It is written, as are his letters, in a plain, free,
manly style, which dispels all doubt as to the sincerity of the
narrator.
"I joined the standard at
Perth," he begins, "the day his Royal Highness arrived there. As I had
formerly known something of a Highland army, the first thing I did was
to advise the Prince to endeavour to get proper people for provisions
and commissaries, for otherwise there would be no keeping the men
together, and they would straggle through the whole country upon their
marches. It was left to themselves to find provisions; which, beside the
inconveniency of irregular marches, and much time lost, great abuses
would be committed, which, above all things, we were to avoid. I got
many of the men to make small knapsacks of sacking before we left Perth,
to carry a peck of meal each upon occasion; and I caused take as many
threepenny loaves there as would be three days' bread to our small army,
which was carried in carts. I sent about a thousand of these knapsacks
to Crieff, to meet the men who were coming from Atholl."
The difficulties which
Lord George encountered were, it is evident, considerable. Upon the
arrival of Charles Edward at Perth, his army amounted only to two
thousand men, until he was joined by Lord George Murray, by the Duke of
Perth, and by Lord Nairn, and other persons of distinction. There were
few persons in that army who were capable, by being versed in military
affairs, of giving Lord George Murray any advice or assistance. The
Highland chiefs possessed the most heroic courage; but they knew no
other manoeuvre but that of rushing, sword in hand, upon an enemy. The
Irish officers were equally deficient in experience and knowledge; and,
with the exception of Mr. Sullivan, are stated to have had no more
knowledge than the whole stock of subidterns, namely, the knowing how to
mount and quit guard. Such is the description given of the collected
forces by Johnstone. But, although not trained as regular soldiers, and
accustomed chiefly to the care of herds of black cattle, whom they
wandered after in the mountains, the Highlanders had a discipline of
their own. Their chiefs usually kept about them several retainers
experienced in the use of arms; and a meeting of two or three gentlemen
was sure to bring together a little army, for the habits of the clansmen
were essentially military. It was, some considered, a circumstance
favourable to Lord George Murray, that, being unprepared by an early
military education, he was unfettered by its formal rules, and therefore
was more calculated to lead an undisciplined army of Highlanders, whose
native energies he knew how to direct better than a skilful tactician
would have ventured to do. During his stay at Perth, the Highlanders, so
prone to irregularities when not in active service, were tranquil under
the strictest military rule.
It was here, however,
that the first seeds of dissension were sown between Charles Edward and
Lord George. Sir Thomas Sheridan, the tutor of the Prince, who was
allowed to "have lived and died a man of honour," but who was manifestly
incapable of the great charge intrusted to him, both in the education of
the young Princes and as their adviser in afterlife, added to his other
deficiencies a total ignorance of the British constitution and habits of
thinking. The Prince, of course, was equally ill informed. They were
therefore in the practice, in conversation, of espousing sentiments of
arbitrary power, which were equally impolitic and unbecoming. Sincere
and shrewd, Lord George Murray lost no time in expressing to Charles
Edward his decided disapproval of this tone of discourse. His motives in
these expostulations were excellent, but his overbearing manner
nullified all the good that might have been effected. He offended the
Prince, who repressed indeed his secret indignation, but whose pride,
fostered by circumstances, could dl brook the assumption of his General
It was not until the
Prince reached Edinburgh that a regular Council was formed; consisting
of the Duke of Perth, Lord George Murray, Lord Elcho, Secretary Murray,
Sir Thomas Sheridan, and Mr. Sullivan, the Highland chiefs, and
afterwards of all the colonels in the army. But, among the advisers of
the Prince, an ill-timed emulation, as Mr. Maxwell calls it, now crept
in, and bred great dissension and animosities. "The dissensions," he
states, "began at Edinburgh:" according to Sir Walter Scott, they had an
earlier origin, and originated at Perth.
They were aggravated, as
in the Council at Perth in the time of Lord Mar, by the base passions of
an individual. Detesting the weak and crooked policy of Mar, and viewing
from his calm position as an inferior actor, with a fiendish pleasure,
the embarrassments and mistakes of him whom he hated, stood the Master
of Sinclair. Blinded by a selfish jealousy of power over the mind of him
whom he afterwards betrayed to the ruin which he was working, and "
aiming at nothing less than the sole direction and management of
everything, the Secretary Murray sacrificed to this evil passion, this
thirst for ascendancy, all the hopes of prosperity to Charles Edward
—all present peace to the harassed and perplexed young man whom his
counsels had brought to Scotland. It was he, strongly, and perhaps
bitterly, writes Mr. Maxwell, "that had engaged the Prince to make this
attempt upon so slight a foundation, and the wonderful success that had
hitherto attended it was placed to Ins account."
By some the sincerity of
Murray's loyalty and good-faith were even credited. The Duke of Perth,
among a few others, judged of Murray's heart by his own, went readily
into all las schemes, and confirmed the Prince in the opinion which he
had imbibed of his favourite. After Kelly had left the Prince, Murray
contrived to gain over Sullivan and Sir Thomas Sheridan, and by that
means effectually governed Charles Edward. The fearless, lofty, honest
character of Lord George Murray alone offered an obstacle to the efforts
of the Secretary to obtain, for his own purposes, an entire contrcul; he
cherished towards the General that aversion which a mean and servile
nature ever feels to one whose dealings are free from fraud or deceit.
He also feared him as a rival, and it became his aim to undermine him,
and to lay a plot for the chief stay and prop of the undertaking. It was
naturally to be supposed that Lord George Murray's age, his high birth,
his experience and influence, and his great capacity, would have given
him an advantage over his dastardly rival, and have gained the first
consideration with the Prince. But Murray of Brough-ton, unhappily, had
acquired an early influence over the credulous mind of the young
adventurer. His acquaintance beneath the roof of the Santi Apostoli had
secured an unhappy confidence in his fidelity and worth. lie shortly
took advantage of the sentiments which ought to have ensured the nicest
honour, the most scrupulous truth, in return, to deceive and to mislead
his young master.
Unfortunately there was
one point upon which the honour of Lord George Murray was to be
suspected. He "was said" to have solicited a commission in the English
army. Upon this supposed early defection of Lord George to the
Hanoverian party, Murray grounded his accusations.
"He began by representing
Lord George as a traitor to the Prince; he assured him that he had (I
adopt this expression of Sir Walter Scott in the Tales of a Grandfather
(vol. ii. 3rd Series, p. 205), which seems to imply some doubt on the
subject joined on purpose to have an opportunity of delivering him up to
Government. It was hardly possible to guard against this imposture. The
Prince had the highest opinion of his Secretary's integrity, and knew
little of Lord George Murray. So the calumny had its full effect. Lord
George soon came to know the suspicion the Prince had of him, and was
affected, as one may easily imagine;; to he sure, nothing could be more
shocking to a man of honour, and one that was now for the third time
venturing his life and fortune for the royal cause. The Prince was
partly undeceived by Lord George's gallant behaviour at the battle; and,
had Lord George improved that opportunity, he might perhaps have gained
the Prince's favour, and got the better of the Secretary: but his
haughty and overbearing manner prevented a thorough reconciliation, and
seconded the malicious insinuations of his rival?
Another anecdote is
related, on the authority of Murray of Broughton: On the tenth of
October the Chevalier issued a manifesto, dated from Holyrood House.
This document is acknowledged, even by the opposite party, to have been
remarkably well written but it was not completed without some
heart-burnings, arising from the distrust of many members of the Kirk,
who conceived that it did not contain assurances for the security of
their manner of Divine worship. A grand council was therefore held,
concerning the. alterations which were necessary to conciliate the good
opinion of the Presbyterians. Mr. Kelly, who had drawn up the manifesto,
was very tenacious of his performance; but the majority of those who
were present were of opinion that the manifesto would prosper better if
a promise of putting the penal laws against Papists into effect were
added to it. Upon this proposition the young Chevalier was observed to
change countenance, doubtless reflecting that it would be ungrateful to
depress those who had been such real friends to his father. lie had,
however, the prudence to say but little, and to maintain a neutral
position during the debate, which was carried on with much bitterness on
both sides of the question. It is remarkable that the Duke of Perth,
Sullivan, and O'Neil, who were all Papists, voted for the addition;
whilst many who were of the Reformed Church opposed it. Amongst these
was Lord George Murray, who, starting up and turning to Charles Edward,
exclaimed, with an oath, "Sir, if you permit this article to be
inserted, you will lose five hundred thousand friends meaning that there
were that number of Papists in England. On this, the Prince arose from
his chair and withdrew, offended, as it was thought, by the vehemence
and overbearing advice of Lord George. As he left the room, he said, "I
will have it decided by a majority." But the freedom with which he had
been treated appears to have rankled in his mind. The additional clause
was negatived, and the manifesto remained in the same state as when it
came from Mr. Kelly's hands.
There were, indeed, times
when Lord George endeavoured to retrieve mistakes of which he was
conscious, and upon some occasions he subdued his lofty temper so far as
to be "very obsequious and respectful, but had not temper to go through
with it." He now and then broke into such violent sallies as the Prince
could not digest, though the situation of his affairs forced him to bear
with them. The Secretary's station and favour had attached to him such
as were confident of success, and had nothing in view but making their
fortunes. Nevertheless, Lord George had greater weight and influence in
the Council, and generally brought the majority over to his opinion;
which so irritated the ambitious Secretary, that he endeavoured to give
the Prince a bad impression of the Council itself, and engaged to lay it
entirely aside."
It was not only in regard
to Lord George Murray that the influence of the Secretary was
prejudicial to the Prince's interests; neither was Lord George the only
person whom he dreaded as a rival. Having access to the most intimate
communication with Charles Edward, he abused the youth and inexperience
of the ill-fated man to inspire him with a distrust of many gentlemen of
good family and of integrity, whose fidelity he contrived to whisper
away. All employments were rilled up at the Secretary's nomination; and
he contrived to bestow them upon his own creatures, who would never
thwart his measures. Hence it followed that places of trust were
bestowed on " insignificant little fellows," while there were abundance
of gentlemen of merit who might have been of great use, had they met
with the confidence of their Prince. "Those that Murray had thus
placed," continues Mr. Maxwell, "seconded his dirty little views; and it
was their interest, too, to keep their betters at a distance from the
Prince's person and acquaintance."
Until a very short time
before Charles Edward left Perth, he appears to have felt the most
unqualified admiration for the Highland character, which he had
carefully studied. He thus expressed himself to his father: "I have
occasion every day to reflect on your Majesty's last words to me,—that I
should find power, if tempered with justice and clemency, an easy thing
to myself, and not grievous to those under me. On owing to the
observance of this rule, and to my conformity to the customs of these
people, that I have got their hearts, to a degree not easy to be
conceived by those who do not see it. One who observes the discipline
which I have established, would take my little army to be a body of
picked veterans; and, to see the love and harmony that reigns amongst
us, he would be apt to look upon it as a large well-ordered family, in
which every one loves another better than himself."
He even applauded the
rude climate of Scotland. "I keep my health better in these wild
mountains than I used to do in the Campagna Felice; and sleep sounder,
lying on the ground, than I used to do in the palaces at Rome."
In this happy temper the
Prince set out on his march from Perth to Edinburgh. The march was made
m the most perfect good order, and the strictest discipline prevented
any depredations. As the insurgent army passed by Stirling, the standard
of the Chevalier was saluted by some shot from the. castle.
Nevertheless, Lord George Murray sent into the town, and the gates were
opened; and bread, cheese, and butter sent out to sell, near to
Bannock-burn, where the army halted. On the seventeenth of September the
city of Edinburgh was taken.
In the description of the
courtly scenes of Holyrood, it does not appear that Lord George Murray
took any conspicuous part. His sphere, was the council-room, or the
camp, or the battle-field; and of his proceedings in these different
occupations he has left a very particular account, written with the same
manly spirit and fearless tone which he displayed in ordinary life.
When the Prince's Council
had received accounts of Sir John Cope's landing at Dunbar, they left
Edinburgh and lay upon their arms at Duddingstone, and on the twentieth
marched to meet the enemy. Lord George commanded the van, and, whilst
passing the south side of Pinkie Gardens, he heard that Cope was at or
near Preston, and that he would probably gain the high ground at Fawside.
There was 110 time to deliberate or to wait for orders. Well acquainted
with the ground, Lord George struck off through the fields, without
keeping to any road. He went without being even preceded by the usual
escort to choose the ground where to halt. In less than half an hour, by
inarching quickly, he gained the eminence.; he slackened his pace and
waited for the rear, still proceeding slowly towards Tranent, always
fronting the enemy. General Cope's army was drawn up on the plain
between Preston Grange and Tranent, with' deep broad ditches between
them. After much reconnoitring and some firing, on the part of the
enemy, from these ditches, at the Highlanders, who they thought had
never seen cannon, and would therefore be intimidated, the English army
was drawn up on the east side of the village of Tranent, where, on a dry
stubble-field, with a small rising in front to shelter them, they lay
down to repose in rank and file.
"It was now night,"
writes Lord George Murray; "and when all the principal officers were
called together, I proposed the attacking the enemy at break of day. I
assured them that it was not only practicable, but that ;t would, in all
probability, be attended with success. I told them I knew the ground
myself, and had a gentleman or two -with me who knew every part
thereabouts: there was indeed a small defile at the east end of the
ditches, but, once that was past, there would be no stop; and though we
should be long on our march, yet, when the whole line was past the
defile, they had nothing to do but to face to the left, and in a moment
the whole was formed, and then to attack. The Prince was highly pleased
with the proposal, as indeed the whole officers were; so, after placing
a few pickets, everybody lay down at their posts; and supped upon what
they had with them. At midnight the principal officers were called
again, and all was ordered as was at first proposed. Word was sent to
the Atholl brigade to come off their post at two in the morning, and not
to make the least noise."
Before four in the
morning the army began to march, and an arrangement of the first line,
which had been previously agreed upon, was now put into execution. Those
who had had the right the day before, were to have the rear and the
left; and this alteration was made without the least noise or confusion.
The Duke of Perth therefore went into the front, Lord George giving up
his guides to him. No horse marched at that time, for fear of being
discovered. When the army had advanced within a hundred paces of the
ditches, they marched on to the attack, Lord George, calling on Cameron
of Lochiel to incline to the left. As the enemy discovered their
approach, the noise of the cannon announced that the engagement had
begun. Notwithstanding that Lord George Murray's regiment was the. last
to pass the defile towards the enemy, it was the first to fire. "Our
whole first line," writes the gallant soldier, "broke through the enemy.
Some of them were rallying behind us; but when they saw our second line
coming up, they then made the best of their way."
Lord George pursued the
enemy to the walls of Baukton House, the residence of Colonel Gardiner;
and here a party of the enemy got over the ditch, and fired at the
Highland foe. This little company, brave as it was, was composed of only
fourteen men, headed by a Lieutenant-Colonel. "I got before a hundred of
our men," writes Lord George, "who had their guns presented to fire upon
them, and at my desire they kept up their fire, so that those officers
and soldiers surrendered themselves prisoners; and nothing gave me more
pleasure that day than having it in my power to save those men, as well
as several others." This de-duration was perhaps necessary, to rescue
the memory of Lord George from the opprobrum of cruelty; since it has
been asserted, that at the battle of Culloden he issued orders to give
no quarter, and that such a document to that effect, in the handwriting
of Lord George, was in the possession of the Duke of Cumberland.* This
stigma on the fame of Lord George Murray may have originated from the
desperate character of that last effort: his haughty temper may have
been exasperated in the course of the fatal contest. It is a charge
which can now only be repelled by the previous character of the
individual against whom it is made, since it was never fairly made out,
nor satisfactorily contradicted.
After the action was
partially over, Lord George Murray perceived that a number of people
were gathered together on the height near to Tranent. Mistaking them for
the enemy, the General marched with his regiment, accompanied by
Lochiel, who had kept his men together in good order, back to the narrow
causeway that led up to Tranent. Here he found that the supposed enemy
were only country-people and servants. From them, however, he learned
that the enemy were at Cokenny, only a mile and a half distant; and he
instantly determined on pursuing them. His energy and valour in thus
doing so, after the events of that harassing and exhausting day, cannot
but be admired. He found on arriving at Cokenny, a force of about three
hundred Highlanders, a volunteer company recently embodied at Inverness
by President Forbes. These soon surrendered; between sixteen and
seventeen hundred prisoners were taken that day, among whom were seventy
officers. "His Royal Highness," adds Lord George Murray in giving this
his personal narrative, "took the same care of their wounded as of his
own. I do not mention the behaviour of all our officers and men that
day; their actions shewed it. I only take notice of those two that were
immediately under my eye, which was Lochiel's regiment and the Stewarts
of Appin." As the enemy's foot-soldiers had made little or no resistance
during the battle of Preston-Pans, they might have been all cut to
pieces had it not been for the interposition of Prince Charles and his
officers, who gained that day as much honour by their humanity as by
their bravery. The Prince, -when the rout began, mounted his horse,
galloped all over the field, and his voice was heard amid that scene of
horror, calling on his men to spare the lives of his enemies, of whom he
no longer looked upon as such.'' Far from being elated with the victory,
which was considered as complete, the care of the kind-hearted and
calumniated young man was directed to assist the wounded. Owing to his
exertions, eighty-three of the officers were saved, besides hundreds of
soldiers. "The Prince," writes Mr. Maxwell, "had a livelier sense of
other people's misfortunes than of his own good-fortune."
This spirit of humanity
was extended to the two Lieutenants-General. The conduct of the Duke of
Perth was ever consistent with his mild character. On that occasion, at
all events, Lord George participated in the noble clemency which usually
characterized the Jacobites.
"In the evening," he
writes, "I went with the officer prisoners to a house in Musselburgh
that was allotted for them. Those who were worst wounded were left at
Colonel Gardiner's house, where surgeons attended them; the others
walked, as I did, along with them without a guard (as they had given rue
their parole); and to some, who were not able to walk, 1 gave my own
horses. It was a new-finished house that was got for them, where there
was neither table, bed, chair, nor chimney grate. I caused buy some
new-thrashed straw, and had by good-fortune as much cold provisions and
liquor of my own as made a tolerable meal to them all; and when I was
going to retire, they entreated me not to leave them; for, as they had
no guard, they were afraid that some of the Highlanders, who had got
liquor, might come in upon them and insult or plunder them."
Beside these suffering
men Lord George lay on a floor all night, having given up the minister's
house in Musselburgh, which had been destined as his quarters, to those
who were valetudinary. On the following day those officers who were
tolerably well were removed to Pinkie House, where Prince Charles was
staying. Lord George then returned to the field of battle, to give
directions about the cannon, and to see about the other wounded
prisoners. He afterwards repaired to Pinkie House, the gardens of which
were thronged that night with the prisoners, privates, to whom
provisions were sent; "and the night before," as Lord George relates, "I
got some of their own provisions carried from Cokenny to Colonel
Gardiner's courts and gardens for their use. In these things I ever laid
it down as a maxim, to do by others as I would wish they would do by me,
had I been in their place, and they in mine." Such is the spirit in
which the unfortunate were regarded by the victors of that day; and
these two accounts, that of Lord George Murray and that of Maxwell of
Kirkconnel, written without any mutual compact, and at different times,
and even in different countries, disprove the following gross and
improbable statement of Henderson's of that which occurred after the day
at Preston was fought and won.
According to his account,
professedly that of an eye-witness, the conduct- of the young Chevalier
(who, he acknowledges, had, by the advice of the Duke of Perth, sent to
Edinburgh for surgeons,) was, in the highest degree, unfeeling and
indecent. He stood by the road-side, his horse near him, with his armour
of tin, which resembled a woman's stays, affixed to the saddle; he was
on foot, clad as an ordinary captain, in a coarse plaid, and large blue
bonnet, a scarlet waistcoat with a narrow plain lace about it; his boots
and knees were much dirtied (the effect of his having fallen into a
ditch, as I afterwards understood); he was exceeding merry, and twice
said, ' My Highlanders have lost their plaids,' at which he laughed very
heartily, being in no way affected when speaking of the dead or wounded.
Nor would his jollity have been interrupted, if he had not looked upon
seven standards that had been taken from the dragoons; on which he said,
in French, (a language he frequently spoke in,) ' We have missed some of
them.' After this, he refreshed himself upon the field, and, with the
utmost composure, ate a piece of cold beef and drank a glass of wine,
amidst the deep and piercing groans of the poor men who had fallen
victims to his ambition.''
After this flippant and
hard-hearted conduct, as it is described, the Prince is said to have
ridden oft' to Pinkie House, leaving the bulk of the wounded on the
field that day, to be brought in carts to Edinburgh. "Few," he says,
"recovered; and those who did, went begging through the streets, their
heads tied about with bandages, but obtaining no relief from their
conquerors. The property of the prisoners, the fine linen of the
officers, their gold and silver hilted swords, their watches and rings,
were worn by the lowest among the soldiery almost before their eyes."
The battle of Preston, which was magnified by Lord Lovat as a "glorious
victory not to be paralleled in history," although not meriting such
extravagant remarks, produced the most important consequenccs to the
Jacobite cause. Among not the least important was the acquisition of all
the arms of the whole body of foot, and even of the volunteers. These
went to supply the recruits whom the Marquis of Tullibardine and others
were sending daily to the camp. No enemy was left in the lield to oppose
the progress of Charles Edward's victorious troops. When, having, as
the. Chevalier Johnstone asserts, escaped from the field of battle by
placing a white cockade on his head. Cope arrived at Coldstream with his
troops in great disorder, he was greeted by Lord Mark Ker, one of a
family who had long had hereditary claims to wit as well as courage,
with the bitter remark, that "he believed he was the first general in
Europe that had brought tidings of his own defeat."
"The Prince," writes
Maxwell of Kirkconnel, "was now, properly speaking, master of Scotland."
The militia, which had been raised in some parts of Scotland for the
service of Government, was dismissed; and the Chevalier's orders were
obeyed in many places far from his army. These advantages were, however,
rather glaring than solid and permanent.
After the battle of
Preston, it became a serious and important question what step was to be
taken. It was the Prince's earnest desire to push the advantages thus
gained by an immediate invasion of England, before the Hanoverians had
time to recover from their surprise. But this spirited and, as the event
proved, sagacious opinion was objected to on the score of the smallness
of the forces, and the probability of an accession of strength before
marching southwards. Lastly, the fatal hope of aid from France, that
ignis fatuus which had misled the Jacobite party before, and on which it
was their misfortune to depend, was adduced as an argument. The Prince
yielded to his counsellors, and consented to remain some time in
Edinburgh. Upon this decision Lord George Murray offers no opinion.
The castle of Edinburgh
remained still unsubdued; and the Prince, upon his return to that city,
resolved on blockading the fortress. This was a very unpopular step, but
Charles had no alternative; since it was of vital importance to reduce a
place of so great strength, and consequence. Accordingly a proclamation
was issued, forbidding, under pain of death, that any provisions should
be sent up to the castle; and the. management of this blockade was
entrusted to Lord George Murray.
This able General now
proposed to place guards in such a manner as should prevent the garrison
in the castle marching out to surprise him, but his exertions were
baffled by the want of judgment and incompetency of those beneath him in
command. The guard was placed near the weigh-house at the foot of the
Castle-rock, so that the battery of the half-moon, as it was termed,
near the Castle-gate, bore upon it, and many of the guard within would
have perished upon the first firing. This was not the only mistake. Mr.
O'Sullivan, one of Prince Charles's officers, one day placed a small
guard near the West lvirk, which was not only exposed to the enemy's
fire, but conveniently situated near the sally-port, whence the besieged
might issue and take the party there prisoners ; for no relief could be
sent to them in less than two hours' time, owing to its being necessary
to pass round the whole circumference of the castle to arrive at that
point. "I never," says Lord George Murray, "knew of that guard's being
placed there, until they were taken prisoners." So severe a service was
this blockade, that it was found necessary to relieve the guards, which
were thus placed, by different corps who could not know the risk which
they encountered. Desertions from the Jacobite array were among the most
formidable evils with which Lord George had to contend. It was therefore
important not to discourage the soldiery. In the midst of difficulty the
high-minded Cameron of Lochiel came forward to offer his own person, and
to risk his own regiment in this service. He agreed to take all the
guards, and to relieve them with the soldiers of his own regiment, who
were quartered for that purpose in the outer Parliament House. "I was
with him," writes Lord George, "when the guards were relieved, and the
men did their duty exceedingly, especially when there was danger; and,
when the lire was hottest from the castle, they kept their post with
much resolution and bravery. Lochiel and I being much with them, gave
them a heartiness that hindered them from complaining of a duty which
was so hard, and which the rest of the army had not in their turns. We
even placed new guards to keep the castle from sallying, as they seemed
disposed ; and Keppochs regiment was brought into town to take some of
the guards and support them. I lay in town for some nights, and was
constantly visiting the guards and sentinels."
The castle, nevertheless,
seated on the precipitous locks, which, steep as they are, have yet been
"scaled by love and ambition," defied the blockaders. The Highlanders
continued to keep guard in the weigh-house, and, stationing themselves
in the Grass-market, the Southfield as well as the Hay-market of
Edinburgh, lying on the south side of the Castle-hill, awaited there the
proceedings of the enemy.
On the twenty-ninth of
September, a letter was sent to the Provost of Edinburgh by General
Guest, intimating, that, unless a communication were kept up between the
city and the castle, he should be under the necessity of using cannon to
dislodge the Highlanders. It was said that Guest had an order from the
Government, signed by the Marquis of Tweedale, empowering him to lay the
city in ashes if the citizens did not remove the Highlanders from their
quarters. A message was dispatched from the Provost to General Guest
obtaining a respite for that night; but, meantime, the utmost
consternation prevailed in the town. Twelve o'clock at night was the
hour fixed upon for the execution of this threat of the enemy; and,
although many who reasoned did not believe in the existence of the
order, the lower classes were seized with a panic, and the streets were
crowded with women and children running towards the gates, and with
people removing their property to more secure quarters. "When the clocks
struck twelve, the hour fixed in General Guest's message, the noise of
the cannon was heard firing upon the principal streets; but the
Highlanders were all under shelter, and only a few poor inhabitants were
injured. Nothing was heard except imprecations on that Government which
had issued so cruel an order, since it was quite out of the power of the
citizens to dislodge the Highlanders from their quarters. But the firing
was soon intermitted; and whether the garrison had private orders only
to threaten, or whether they found it impossible to execute so barbarous
an order, is unknown. They spared the city generally, and only directed
their tire to any place where they fancied that they saw a Highlander.
On the following morning
a deputation of citizens waited on the Chevalier, and showed him General
Guest's letter. He immediately replied, that he was surprised and
concerned at the barbarity of the order, but that if, out of compassion
for the city, he were to remove his guards, the castle might with equal
reason summon him to quit the town, and abandon all the advantages of
which he was possessed. A respite of a day was afterwards obtained; and
subsequently for six days, in case the Highlanders would abstain from
firing at the castle; and a dispatch to London was sent to obtain a
mitigation of the order in council.
Meantime, on the first of
October, the Highlanders fired; whether at some people who were carrying
provisions to the castle, or at the castle itself, is uncertain.
Reprisals were instantly made by a heavy cannonading and small shot. The
firing continued for some days, bringing terror to the hearts of those
who lived remote from the scene of danger; whilst the aged and infirm
were carried out of that noble city, thus threatened with destruction.
Sir Walter Scott observes, that the generation of his own time alone can
remember Edinburgh in peace, undisturbed by civil commotion. The fathers
of that generation remembered the days of 1745—their fathers the
disturbances of 1715. The fathers of those who had witnessed the
rebellion of 1715 could remember the revolution of 1688.
The merciful temper of
the young Chevalier saved the city of Edinburgh. At first he resolved to
continue the blockade; and he renewed his former orders, prohibiting any
person from going to the castle without a pass from his secretary, and
threatening any one who was disobedient to this proclamation with
instant death. But, when he beheld the distress to which the firing had
already reduced the city,—then, let it be remembered, comprised within
boundaries of very moderate extent,—he issued another proclamation,
expressing his deep concern for the many murders which were committed
upon the innocent inhabitants of the city, so contrary to the laws of
war, to the truce granted to the city, and even exceeding the powers
given. His humanity had, therefore, yielded to the barbarity of his
enemy; the blockade of the castle was taken off', and the threatened
punishment suspended.* The army of Charles Edward was now increasing
daily; and, in consequence of the reports which were circulated iu the
metropolis, a panic spread there, of which no estimate can be made
without consulting the newspapers of that time. Among other writers who
employed their talents in inveighing against the cause of James Stuart,
was the celebrated Henry Fielding, whose papers in the True Patriot upon
the subject present a curious insight into those transient states of
public feeling, which perished almost as soon as expressed. The rapidity
of the progress made by the. insurgents is declared by his powerful pen
to have been unprecedented. "Can History," he writes, "produce an
instance parallel to this,—of six or seven men landing in a powerful
nation, in opposition to the ncliriation of the people, in defiance of a
vast and mighty army? (For, though the greater part of this army was not
then in the kingdom, it was so nearly within call, that every man of'
them might, within the compass of a few days, or weeks at farthest, have
been brought home and landed in any part of it.) If we consider, I say,
this handful of men landing in the most desolate corner, among a set of
poor, naked, hungry, disarmed slaves, abiding there with impunity till
they had, as it were, in the face, of a large body of his Majesty's
troops collected a kind of army, or rather rabble, together, it will be
extremely difficult to assign any adequate cause whatsoever, for this
unexampled success, without recurring to one, of whose great efficacy we
have frequent instances in sacred history: I mean, the just judgment of
God against an offending people." The state of public morals, Fielding
considers, to have drawn down upon society this signal visitation of
Providence. "Indeed, such monstrous impieties and iniquities have I both
seen and heard of, within these last three years, during my sojourning
in what is called the world, particularly the last winter, while I
tarried in the great city, that, while I verily believe we are the
silliest people under Heaven in every other light, we are wiser than
Sodom in wickedness. The consternation of the sister kingdom had now,
indeed, become general; on the slightest report of foreign ships being
seen in the Downs, the dismay of the London citizens was extreme: and
such was the liberality, or such were the fears of the inhabitants of
the county of York, the capital of which may almost have been deemed, in
those days, a northern metropolis, that forty thousand pounds were
subscribed for its defence, after a grave and mournful address of the
archbishop of that diocese.
When the Prince had
determined to take off the blockade, and indeed had actually resolved to
evacuate Edinburgh and to inarch southwards, he sent orders to Lord
George Murray to nail the cannon upon the city walls, and to retire to
Musselburgh and Dalkeith. But the sagacious Lord George, apprehending no
further cannonading from the castle, begged permission not to make a
precipitate retreat, and obtained leave to continue three weeks longer
in Edinburgh, during which time the town remained in a much quieter
state than it had been heretofore.
Whilst Lord George Murray
was quartered in Edinburgh, he communicated frequently with his wife,
the Lady Emelia, who remained with her children at Tullibardine. That
lady seems to have taken a deep interest in the events which so deeply
concerned her family. She was the first to communicate to the Marquis of
Tullibardine the intelligence of the victory of Preston-Pans. "I pray
God,'' she says in her postscript, "to prosper his Royal Highness's
arms, and congratulate your Grace upon his happy success." A gentleman,
who had seen her husband after the battle, had brought to the anxious
wife the tidings of his success.
Towards the end of
October the Prince resolved to march into England, without waiting any
longer for the landing of French auxiliaries, or even for the arrival of
the friendly Clans of Frasers and Mackintoshes, who were ready to march
from the north to join Charles Edward. By some of the Chevalier's
advisers he was recommended to go to Berwick; hut this was a scheme
counteracted by the counsels of Lord George Murray, who, in the presence
of the principal officers, represented it as "a thing at least of great
difficulty, and of not so great use as to lose time, which is precious."
Lord George therefore proposed marching into England by the other road;
but, to conceal their design, he advised that the army should be divided
into three columns; one to go by Kelso, the second by Moffat, and a
third by Galashiels, Selkirk, and Hawick; so that all the columns should
join on an appointed day near Carlisle. The plan was approved; and, the
secret being very well kept, on the thirty-first of October the army
prepared to march. It is remarkable, that, during the whole period of
their stay in Edinburgh, no general review of the Jacobite forces had
taken place. The consequent uncertainty of what was really the amount of
those forces, which existed in England, fostered the general panic.
"Abundance of people," writes Mr. Maxwell, "friends as well as enemies,
had made it their business to find out the number of the Prince's army,
but to no purpose. Great pains had been taken to conceal its weakness in
order to conceal the design upon England, a scheme was formed, allowing
three days to elapse between the marching of the two great divisions of
the army; and accordingly the Prince, attended by Lord George Murray,
took up his abode at the palace of Dalkeith, and here he remained until
the third of November. In this princely abode the young representative
of the Stuart line may have remembered the adverse fortunes of Queen
Mary, and the bold character of the Regent Morton, to whom the castle of
Dalkeith belonged, when it had acquired from the character of its owner
the name of the "Lion's Den." After the death of Morton, the barony of
Dalkeith was included in the attainder ; and the castle had been
considered, during many years, as public property, and was inhabited by
General Monk during the usurpation of Cromweil.
But, long before Charles
Edward made it his temporary residence, Dalkeith had been repaired and
beautified by Anne Duchess of Buccleugh and Monmouth, the widow of the
unfortunate Duke of Monmouth. It was, as it is now, an appropriate
residence for royalty. The more ancient part of the building has, it is
true, lost its castellated appearance; but the beautiful site on the
steep banks of the Eske, and the thickness of the walls, are still
proofs of former strength and great importance, to which the contiguity
of Dalkeith to Edinburgh conduce; whilst the junction of the north and
south Esk in the park add to the beauties of this noble demesne.
The Chevalier Johnstone
was still aide-de-camp to Lord George Murray, and remained to accompany
the General on his march. Among those with whom the exertions of Lord
George were frequently united was Mr. O'Sullivan, an Irish officer, and
the object of Charles Edward's partiality and confidence, and he was a
man of considerable abilities. Having received his education in a Romish
college abroad, O'Sullivan had originally entered into priest's orders.
It was his lot to be recommended as a tutor to the son of Marshal
Maillebois, who, perceiving in the young ecclesiastic proofs of a genius
better adapted to the use of the sword than to the gravity of the gown,
encouraged him to apply himself to the profession of arms. There were
not wanting in those days opportunities of cultivating a military turn,
and Corsica was the scene of Mr. O'Sullivan's first exploits. Here he
acted as secretary to Marshal Yillebois; an office of no slight
responsibility, for the Marshal was tainted with the prevalent vice of
the day, and scarcely ever left the dinner-table in a state fit for
public business. O'Sullivan, therefore, in the course of those
oppressions which the French inflicted on the inhabitants of Corsica,
acquired not only great experience in business, but also in military
affairs; as well as knowledge in what is termed the art of making
irregular war. To this acquirement he afterwards added another; for,
having served a campaign on the Rhine, it was said by a French General,
under whom he fought, that his knowledge of the regular art of war was
equal to that of any General in Europe. To his abilities were attributed
much of the rapid success of those whom it was the fashion of the
newspapers of the day to describe as "a handful of savages," but whom
the loungers about the English court soon learned to dread.
It is now necessary,
before entering into details of fresh operations, to review the
proceedings of Lord George Murray during the last few weeks, and to give
some, notion how he exercised the functions of his generalship. His
chief sources of annoyance, besides the intrigues in the Prince's
council, were the deserters from the Jacobite army. Before leaving
Edinburgh, Lord George Murray had despatched a number of prisoners to
Logierait: and the following letter shows how rigid were the
instructions which he peremptorily sent to his brother, the Marquis of
Tullibardine, at Perth. The correspondence of Lord George Murray proves
him to have been a man of a stern, hard nature; and effaces much of the
impression produced by his united valour and clemency in the field of
battle.
"Dear Brother,
"Things vary so much from
time to time that 1 can say nothing certain as yet, but refer you to the
enclosed letter; but depend upon having nothing express from mc with you
before Monday night. But, in the mean time, you must resolve to be ready
to march on Tuesday morning, by Keinacan and Tay Bridge, so as to bo at
Crieff on Wednesday; and even that way, if you do your best, you will be
half a march behind: but you will be able to make up that on Thursday,
when 1 reckon we may meet at Dunblane or Doun: but of this more fully in
my next. It is believed for certain that Cope will embark at Aberdeen.
"I hope the meal was with
you before this—thirty-five bolls—for it was at Duar last night. It
shall be my study to have more meal with you on Monday night, for you
must distribute a peck a man : and, cost what it will, there must be
pocks to each man, to contain a peck or two for the men to have always
with them. Buy linen, yarn, or anything; for these pocks are of absolute
necessity—nothing can be done without them. His Royal Highness desires
you to acquaint Glenmeriston and Glencoe, if they come your way, of this
intended march, so that they may go by Tay Bridge (if you please, with
you); and what meal you can spare, let them have. You may please tell
your own people that there is a project to get arms for them. " Yours,
adieu!
"George Murray."
"Saturday, nine at
night."
"For God's sake! he
adds in another part of his letter, "cause some effectual measures to be
taken about the deserters: I would have their houses and crops
destroyed, for an example to others, and themselves punished in a most
rigorous manner."
Another source of anxiety
was connected with the prisoners of war. It was difficult to know how to
dispose of them. The island in the Loch of Clunie, not far from Dunkeld,
was afterwards considered by the Marquis as the most suitable place for
the reception of the prisoners; and was conceded by Lady Ogilvy, the
daughter of Lord Airlie, for that purpose, .n her father's absence. In a
letter addressed by Tullibardine to the Earl of Airlie, to whom the Loch
of Clunie belonged, a spirit of kindness and consideration, is shown,
very different to the stern mandates of Lord George Murray. "I presume,"
writes the Marquis, "your Lordship will not only cheerfully make
everything be carefully prepared for their reception, but also
contribute what's possible to prevent any dangerous mutiny or escape
among them." Although describing these prisoners as a " troublesome and
dangerous set of people," he recommends no harsh measures, except
precautionary vigilance.* Beef, mutton, and meal were pro\ ided and paid
for by the Marquis, who, ultimately, was obliged to quarter a
considerable number of the prisoners in barns and other outhouses near
Logierait. This charge appears to have been very unwelcome to the good
old Tullibardine, who talks to his sister in law, Lady Emilia Murray, of
"ane unworthy pack of prisoners that is sent us."
Meantime, the want of
money for the supply of the garrison at Ferth was another source of
uneasiness to Lord George Murray. Many disappointments, on this score,
occurred. "I told you," Lord George writes to his brother, "that some
gentlemen had promised to his Royal Highness some money in loan, more
besides what they already gave; but it is to their ladies you will
please to write, as they appear to do the thing, and not the husbands."
"I have been as pressing," he says in another letter to the Marquis,
"about money to be sent to you, both formerly and now, as if my life
depended upon it. There is three hundred pounds sent at present, mostly
in specie. You are desired to write to people in the country to advance
money, particularly to Lady Methven; which if they do not immediately,
their corn and other effects will be seized."
Previously to his march
southwards, Prince Charles appointed Viscount Strathallan Governor, and
Deputy Governor of Perth, and Commander-in-chief during the absence of
the Marquis of Tullibardine, whom Lord George Murray now summoned to
join him, considering that the addition of the Marquis's tenantry to the
army was of the utmost importance. "I am extremely anxious," he writes,
"to have our men here, at least as many as would make Lord Nairn's
battalion, and mine, five hundred each; for at present I could get them
supply'd with guns, targets, tents, and, those who want them, shoes
also: but if they be not here soon, them that come first, will be first
serv'd."
These directions were
reiterated, and were also repeated by the pen of Lady Emilia Murray, to
whom her lord sent immediate accounts of all that occurred. This
spirited and indefatigable help-meet resided generally at Tullibardine.
"These," she writes, "were his words, ' I entreat, for God's sake, that
the Duke of Atholl send off the men here immediately, or they will be
too late for arms, targets, tents, &c.; nay, for our march, which begins
on Thursday." All this haste and impetuosity was meekly but decidedly
resisted by the slow Marquis of Tullibardine. He thus writes in reply to
one of his brother's most urgent entreaties:
"About ten o'clock in the
afternoon I received your express, dated the fourth, four o'clock,
afternoon, and am very much concerned to find that it is morally
impossible for me, or any of the men in these parts, to be up with you
against Thursday night, the day you say it is resolved, in a Council of
War, to march southward. Did any of us endeavour to make too much haste
to join the Prince, I am afraid we should be like a good milk coat, that
gives a great pail of milk, and after, kicks it down with her foot.
Forgive the comparison."
Other apprehensions also
increased the desire of Lord George to begin his march. "I am desired to
let you know," he writes to the Marquis of Tullibardine, "that there is
one Kimber, an anabaptist, who came from London with a design to
assassinate the Prince; he is about twenty-seven years old, black hair,
of a middling stature, and talks fluently and bluntly about his travels
in the West Indies." This man, It was suspected, afterwards changed his
name to Geffreys. He was supposed to have even been received by the
Marquis of Tullibardine at his table, and to have obtained a pass from
him ; but nothing more was disclosed, as far as the correspondence
informs us, touching this attempt.
Lord George continued in
a fever of vexation and anxiety at the delay of his brother, upon whose
arrival at the camp, the march to England was to begin. Public affairs
:n England favoured, as he justly thought, the most decisive measures.
"Everything," he writes to his brother, "is in great contusion in
England, particularly in London, where credite is at a stand. The
greatest banquiers have stopt payment; all would go to our wish, if we
could but march instantly. If you delay longer," Lord George adds, ":t
will be the utter ruine of the cause. You should wait for nobody but
your own men." The arrival of supplies from France, of arms and
ammunition, though they were represented as being very inferior in
quantity to what had been expected, gave encouragement to the hopes of
the sanguine; and reassured in some degree, even the anxious mind of
Lord George Murray.
Before finally quitting
Perth, the Marquis of Tullibardine received a compliment from the
gentlemen prisoners of war there, which proved how soldierlike and
courteous his conduct towards them had been. They inquired whether he
would have morning levees, since they wished "to wait upon him." To this
the Marquis replied, with his thanks, that, although not fond of
ceremonious visits, he would always be "glad to cullivate an
acquaintance with gentlemen whose actions show they are true Britons, by
standing up for and supporting the ancient constitution and liberties of
well-born subjects, whose honour is engaged to shake off the slavery of
a foreign yoke."
Notwithstanding all the
remonstrances of Lord George, who had reiterated his entreaties during
the whole of the month of October, the winter was far advanced before
the Marquis left his castle of Blair to proceed southwards.
On the thirty-first of
October, a considerable force took the road to Duddingstone, a small
village at the foot of Arthur's Seat; presenting, before the Highland
army poured in upon its serene precincts, a scene of repose and quiet
beauty, finely contrasted with the. clamour of the city, and the
grandeur of the rugged hills.
Foremost rode Lord Elcho,
commanding the first troop of horse-guards, consisting of sixty-two
gentlemen, and their servants, under five officers, forming altogether a
troop of a hundred and twenty horse. A smaller troop, not amounting to
more than forty horse, followed under the command of Arthur Elphinstone,
afterwards Lord Balmerino. Then came a little squadron of horse
grenadiers, with whom were incorporated the Perthshire gentlemen, in the
absence of their own commander, Lord Strathallan, who was left Governor
of Perth. The whole of this squadron did not amount to a hundred. It was
commanded by William Earl of Kilmarnock, the representative of an
ancient and noble family, which, as an historian remarks, "sometimes
matched with the blood-royal." "He was," adds the same writer, "in the
flower of his age, being about forty years old. The elegance of his
person, and comeliness of his features, which were every way handsome,
bespake internal beauties." It is remarkable, that, at this very time,
the young Lord Boyd, Lord Kilmarnock's son, held a commission in the
British army and fought against the Jacobites.
The Aberdeen and
Bamffshire gentlemen, amounting with their servants to a hundred and
twenty, with seventy or eighty hussars, were commanded by Lord Pitsligo;
but Mr. Murray, "who would have a share at least of everything," was
their colonel.
The infantry consisted of
thirteen little battalions, for the Highlanders would not be commanded
by any but their own chiefs; and it was necessary therefore to have as
many regiments as there were Clans.
On the third of November,
the Prince marched from Dalkeith on foot, at the head of the Clans, who
were commanded under him by Lord George Murray. The acclamations of the
people of Edinburgh, who flocked in crowds to witness the departure of
the army, were loud and friendly. Yet it is remarkable, that in spite of
his long residence in that city, in spite of his hereditary claims on
its inhabitants, and of the popularity of his manners, the party of the
Prince in that capital never increased in proportion to his
expectations. This indifference to the cause of Charles Edward has with
much reason been attributed to the strong and unalterable distrust
entertained by all zealous Presbyterians of any approach to Popery: the
firmness of the Scottish character to a principle may be plainly read in
the reluctance of the Lowlanders to hazard, even for a Stuart, the
safety of what they esteem to be their vital interests.
It was, however, a fine,
although a mournful sight, when the Clans taking the road to London left
Dalkeith. It was indeed only after long and anxious deliberation, that
these brave men had resolved to risk an advance to England, without any
certain expectation of a rising in that, country; yet there were many
among the chiefs who went forth that day, and among these were some of
the bravest and the most determined, who "trusted in themselves alone."
Among those who were declared secretly to have desponded of success, and
yet to have gone on it the career from a sense of honour, was Lord
George Murray.
The march to England was
very judiciously planned and well executed. "It resembled," observes the
Chevalier Johnstone, "on a small scale, that of Marshal Saxe some years
before, when he advanced to lay siege to Maestricht." The Prince went
(lay after day ou foot, contrary to general expectation; for it was
thought that he would only have done so at the beginning to encourage
the soldiers: but in dirty lanes, and in deep suow, the youth reared in
seclusion and luxury took his chance with the common men, and could
scarcely ever be prevailed upon even to get on horseback to ford a
river. ''It's not to be imagined," writes his affectionate partisan and
historian Maxwell, "how much this manner of bringing himself down to a
level with the men, and his affable behaviour to the meanest of them,
endeared him to the army." On arriving at Lauder, hearing that some of
the Highlanders had remained behind with a view, it was thought, of
deserting, Charles got on horseback before it was light, rode back two
or three miles, and brought the stragglers with him. I On the fourth
instant he reached Kelso. Such was the success of this well-contrived
march, and such the secresy with which it was made, that Marshal Wade,
who was at Newcastle with eleven thousand men, continued to cover and
protect that place, without an idea of advancing to intercept the
Highland troops. Indeed, the secret was so well kept, that hardly any
subordinate officer in the Prince's service knew where the junction of
the columns was intended to take place.
Arduous as the Prince's
march had been to Kelso, it was enlivened by some incidents in which the
stern and haughty Lord George Murray must have participated, as well as
the gallant young Chevalier. On passing through Preston Hall gate, the
first morning of his march, the Prince found breakfast there prepared
for him by order of the Duchess of Gordon, for which act that lady was
deprived of a yearly pension of one thousand pounds, given to her in
consideration of her Grace's having educated her family in the
Protestant religion. As he passed Fala Danes, the ladies of Whithorough,
who were the sisters of a zealous adherent of the Prince, Robert
Anderson, entertained Charles and his chief officers with a collation in
the open air. The royal guest, being asked to leave some memorial of his
visit, cut from the hilt of his sword a piece of crimson velvet, which
is still preserved at Whitborough. At Lauder, Charles took up his abode
in Hurlestane castle, the seat of the Earl of Lauderdale. From Kelso,
Charles dispatched the guards across the Tweed; not so much to
reconnoitre, as to amuse the enemy: they went some miles into the
country, and, when they came to any English villages, made inquiries as
to what reception and accommodation the army might meet with on arriving
there. The object of this manoeuvre was to keep General "Wade in
suspense as to the movements of the army, and to prevent his marching
towards Carlisle. Such was the success of these artifices, that "Wade,
who had decided on a march to Berwick, countermanded that order. On the
sixth of November the Jacobite forces crossed the Tweed: that river was
scarcely fordable; but the Highlanders were elated beyond measure, and,
even when bathed in the water, expressed their delight by discharging
their pieces and uttering cries of joy. Such was their humour, that they
gave the horses which were taken from the enemy the name of General
Cope, by way of expressing their contempt for the fugitive Englishman.
Amid indications of
homage, especially from the women of the town of Jedburgh, who ran forth
to kiss the young hero's hand, Charles entered Jedburgh, and took up his
residence at an inn in the centre of the town, called the Nag's Head. On
the following day he led his troops over the Eule water, famous for the
warriors of old who dwelt near its banks; and over the Knot o' Gate into
Liddiesdale, " noted in former times for its predator) bands, as in more
recent times for its primitive yeomen and romantic minstrelsy."* After a
march of twenty-five miles, the Prince arrived at Haggiehaugh, upon
Liddel water; here he slept, the Highlanders finding their quarters for
the night as well as they could in barns, or byres, or houses, as their
fortune might be. On the eighth of November Charles Edward, proceeding
down the Liddel water, met the column of horse which had taken the
middle road by Selkirk and Hawick. They joined him at Gritmill Green
upon the banks of the Esk, four miles below Langholm. Shortly afterwards
the first division of the Prince's army crossed the river, which here
separates the two kingdoms, as the Tweed does at Berwick, and trod upon
English ground. That event was signalized by a loud shout, whilst the
Highlanders unsheathed their swords. But soon a general panic was spread
among the soldiery, by the intelligence that Cameron of Lochiel, in
drawing his sword, had drawn blood from his hand. This was regarded as
an omen of mournful import. What was of much more vital consequence was
the incessant desertion of the troops, especially from the column which
the Prince commanded. Arms were afterwards found flung away in the
fields, and the roads to Lanarkshire and Stirlingshire were crowded with
these renegades. This circumstance Lord George Murray accounted for in
these terms, when, upon a subsequent occasion, he wrote to his brother,
complaining of the fact: " We are quite affronted with the scandalous
desertion of our men: it was the taking money instead of the best men,
which is the occasion of all the e\ il; for good men, once coming out,
would have been piqued in honour, and not deserted us on the point of
lighting the enemy."
Such was the skill and
secrecy with which the whole of this march had been planned, chiefly by
the suggestions of Lord George Murray, that the forces were very much
surprised on finding that all the three columns arrived nearly at the
same time, on a heath in England, about two miles distant from the city
of Carlisle. The plan was executed with such precision, that there was
not an interval of two hours between the junction of the columns.
It was now resolved to
invest Carlisle. Few cities in England have been the scenes of more
momentous events than that which was now the object of the Chevalier's
efforts. Long the centre of border hostilities, it was the fate of
Carlisle to be at once the witness of the insurrection of 1745, and the
scene of punishment of those who were concerned in that movement.
In modern times, the
importance of Carlisle as a fortress has inevitably declined; and it is
at present regarded as a venerable relic of former strength, rather than
as a place of defence. But, in ancient days, the "Warden of the Marches,
selected from among the nobles of tried fidelity and courage, attracted
to the castle of Carlisle a host of youthful aspirants for military
renown, who there sought to be trained to arms, amid contests not
depending upon a single achievement, but requiring watchfulness, patient
labour, and skill, slowly and painfully to be acquired.
Founded by William Rufus,
who restored the city after it had lain two hundred years in ruins,
owing to the depredations of the Danes; and improved and enlarged
successively by Richard the Third and Henry the Eighth; the castle had
received the unhappy Mary Stuart: and here she was treated with an
insidious respect which soon threw off the mask. In the time of Queen
Elizabeth, the citadel, which was entirely built by Henry the Eighth,
fell into decay; and, after the prohibition of all incursions on England
on the part of King James the Sixth, Carlisle ceased to be of so much
importance as a military possession; and its position, as one of the
keys of England, did not avail to secure any great attention to its
dilapidated state. At the time of Charles Edward's arrival in
Cumberland, the fortifications of the City had been neglected for
several centuries; but it still bore the outward aspect of former
strength.
The works, which had thus
been left to moulder away, were in the form of a triangle, and were
separated from the town by a deep ditch. Upon the east angle, which is
also cut off from the Parade by a ditch, is seated the Castle, properly
so called, though the whole generally goes by that name. These works
consist of a dungeon, the walls of which are twelve feet in thickness; a
tower, called the Captain's Tower; two gates, one to each ward; there
being an inward and an outward ward. In the castle there is a great
chamber, and a hall, but no storehouse for ammunition. In the walls of
the town, three gateway towers, a semi-circular bastion called Springeld
Tower, and the citadel, complete the fortifications: unless we comprise
several square towers with which the city Avails are furished;
especially one at the west sallyport, and the Tile Tower, both of
considerable strength.
The foreground of the
castle is formed of green and level meadows washed by the river Eden;
and, in modern days, two fine stone bridges add to the beauty of the
scene. The hanging banks are crowned with the village and church of
Stanwix, and the mountains of Newcastle form the distance. "To the
south," to use the words of Hutchinson in his History of Cumberland,
"you command the plains towards Penrith, shut in on either side with a
vast range of mountains, over which Crossfell and Skiddaw are distinctly
seen greatly eminent. To the east a varied tract of cultivated country,
scattered over with villages and hamlets, mingle beautifully with
woodlands on the extensive landscape ; the distant horizon formed by the
heights of Northumberland. To the west, the Solway Frith sparkles out, a
shining expanse of waters, flowing along a cultivated tract of land on
the English coast; on the other, the bold heights of Weffel and a chain
of mountains extend towards the sea."
When Charles Edward
spread out his forces before Carlisle, the garrison within its
mouldering walls was composed of a company of invalids, under the
command of Colonel Durand; but the Cumberland militia were almost all
collected within the city walls. Colonel Durand, however, as well as the
Mayor of the place, showed a spirit of defence; and the latter issued a
proclamation informing the inhabitants that he was not Paterson, a
Scotchman, but Pattieson, a true-born Englishman, who was determined to
hold out the city to the last. Since Charles had a battering cannon, it
appeared impossible to reduce the castle if it were well-defended; but
it was resolved to make the attempt. "Whilst he was meditating an
attack, the news that Wade's army was marching from Newcastle drew him
for some days from continuing these operations. The report proved,
however, to be groundless; and the Duke of Perth was sent, therefore,
with several regiments to begin the siege.
The Jacobite army had all
crossed the river Eden at Fowcliff, four miles below Carlisle; and next
day they marched to Harraby, Blackball, and Boutcherby, to the southward
of Carlisle. At Harraby Lord George Murray remained, in order to cover
the siege; that place being most contiguous to Carlisle, and on the
highway to Penrith: the other troops under his command lay in the
adjoining villages. The Duke of Perth had the direction of the trenches.
It was here that an event occurred, which shortly afterwards excited the
greatest discontent among the followers of Charles Edward.
The attack upon the city
was made from Stanwix Bank; the Marquis of Tullibardine, who had at
length joined the insurgent army, with his tenantry, assisting the Duke
of Perth. As it was market-day on the ninth, when the Jacobites made
their appearance within a quarter of a mile of Carlisle, the Highland
soldiers were mingled with the market-people returning home, so that the
garrison dared not fire upon them. On the following day, the city was
attacked in three places; but the Marquis of Tullibardine, who commanded
a four-gun battery, planted at the entrance of a lane, was heard to say
to his followers, "Gentlemen, we have not metal for them; retreat."
After three days' attach, however, the courage of Mr. Pattieson, and the
strength of the garrison, gave way. The valiant Mayor forgot his English
birth so far as to hang out a white flag, and to request a capitulation
for the town. The garrison and townsmen of Carlisle, in the opinion of
the writers of the day, merited no more credit than that of Edinburgh,
in their defence and capitulation. In the siege, the Highland army had
only one man hilled, and another wounded; and the reduction of Carlisle
gave great, hut not lasting, lustre to their arms.
On entering Carlisle,
Lord George Murray is said, in the newspapers of the day, to have
encountered an old friend, who asked him how he could be so rash as to
lend himself to the aid of a hopeless and futile invasion. To this Lord
George is declared to have replied, that he was well aware that the
cause was hopeless; but that, having once engaged to maintain it, honour
compelled him to continue his exertions. It was not, however, long
before those fatal dissensions appeared which effectually defeated all
that valour or fidelity could effect to save Charles Edward from defeat.
It was, perhaps, the
well-earned popularity of the Duke of Perth, his forbearance, and the
gratitude evinced towards him by the inhabitants of Carlisle, as he rode
triumphantly through their city, that first roused the jealousy of Lord
George Murray's proud nature. The disinterested conduct of the Duke of
Perth, as soon as he became informed of the sentiments entertained
towards him by Lord George Murray, was worthy of himself. That brave and
excellent young man modestly withdrew from a rivalry which, he justly
concluded, must be injurious to the cause of that Prince whose interests
he had espoused; for few men could cope with the natural abilities, the
force of character, and the experience of Lord George. He was by far the
most able general that appeared in either of the two insurrections in
the cause of the Stuarts. "His personal hardihood and bravery," remarks
Lord Mahon, "might be rivalled by many others; but none could vie with
him in planning a campaign, providing against disasters, or improving
victory."
Whilst the Jacobite
forces lay encamped near Carlisle, certain differences of opinion arose
in the Council. There were some who had even thought that it would be
desirable, before investing Carlisle, to return to Scotland to collect a
greater force. Lord George Murray, seconded by the Duke of Perth, had
opposed this cautious proposal; and recommended that part of the army
should stay at Brampton, and the rest go to blockade Carlisle. The Duke
of Perth had seconded this scheme, and it had accordingly been decided
that Lord George should command the blockade, whilst the Duke conducted
the battery. The result has been seen; and the Prince was now master of
Carlisle.
A few days after he had
taken possession of the town, a council of war was called, to consider
what was nest to be done. Some of the officers proposed returning to
Scotland; others were in favour of encamping near Carlisle, and waiting
to see whether there would be any rising in England. Others advised
marching forwards, by the west of England; arguing, that having
Carlisle, happen what might, they had a safe retreat. Charles Edward
declared himself to be of the last-mentioned opinion, and his
inclinations were seconded by Lord George to a certain extent. He stated
the advantages and disadvantages of both propositions; but added, that,
although he could not venture to advise the Prince to march into England
without more encouragement than they had hitherto received, yet he was
persuaded that if his Royal Highness marched south, his army, though but
small, woidd follow lnm. Upon this, Charles immediately said these
words, "I will venture it." "I spoke," adds Lord George, ''with the more
caution, since some things had happened about the time of the blockade
of Carlisle, and a little before, which had made me desirous to serve
only as a volunteer, and not as a general officer; but, as all the other
officers were very pressing with me, I soon laid that thought aside."
What those circumstances
were, Lord George explains in the following letter to his brother. His
difficulties, owing to the want of arrangements, such as his skill and
experience might have suggested, had he been first in command, appear to
have been sufficiently trying. Yet, in the extract from a letter dated
Nov. 15, from Harraby, Lord George. does ample justice to the exertions
of the Duke of Perth. This epistle was written whilst the blockade and
battery were going on.
"I AM sorry to find that
it is impossible to go on so quick with the battery of cannon as would
have been wished. By the report of those I sent there, the ground is
marshy, and vastly too much exposed; and, notwithstanding all the pains
taken by the Duke of Perth, who is indefatigable in that service, and
who meets with innumerable difficulties, I suspect the place pitched
upon will not answer. But, if the thing be prosecuted, I think it my
duty to tell you, so as you may represent it to his Royal Highness, that
the men posted upon the blockade of Carlisle will not expose themselves,
either in trenches, or all night in the open air, within cannon-shot, or
even musket-shot of the town, except it be in their turn with the rest
of the army, and that it be decided by lot who is to mount the guard,
first night, second, and so on. The way I would propose, if it be
approved of by a council of war, is as follows:—that fifty men be
draughted out of each of the battalions that are at Brampton, with
proper officers, and at least two majors out of the six battalions, and
be sent to quarter at Butcherby, which, I believe, is within a mile of
the, battery; and, as I suppose, one hundred and fifty men will mount
guard at the battery. These six battalions will furnish two guards; your
men will furnish one, General Gordon and Lord Ogilvie's one, which, in
the whole, makes four guards, or reliefs; and I think, by that time.
the town will be either
taken or the blockade removed 1 don't mention the Duke of Perth's
regiment, because they have more than their turn of the duty already,
besides furnishing workmen, &c. And for Colonel Roy Stuart's regiments,
I suppose they have the guard of the equipage, &c.; and they will,
perhaps, be able to furnish some workmen. If anything be done of this
nature, the sooner I hear of it the better. I ever am, dear brother,
your most affectionate brother, and faithful humble servant, "George
Moray."
This advice was
disregarded. A court-martial was held to consider of the plan suggested
by Lord George. By this council the detachments proposed by Lord George
for the relief of the battery were refused, upon the plea that those
corps had lately encountered all the fatigue of the blockade at
Edinburgh, and that it would not be fair to put them again upon that
service. On the day after receiving this decision, in the hand-writing
of Secretary Murray, Lord George addressed the following letter to the
Prince. His conduct upon this occasion shows the proud and fiery spirit
of this able commander
"10th November, 1745.
"Sir,
"I cannot but observe how
little my advice as a General officer has any weight with your Royal
Highness, ever since I had the honour of a commission from your hands. I
therefore take leave to give up my commission. But as I ever had a true
attachment to the royal family, and in particular to the King my master,
I shall go on as a. volunteer, and design to he this night in the
trenches as such, with any others that will please to follow me, though
I own I think there are Ml few on this post already. Your Royal Highness
will please order whom you think tit to command on this post, and the
other parts of the blockade. I have the honour to be, sir, your Royal
Highness's most faithful and most humble servant,
(Signed) "George Murray.*
"Lord Elcho has the
command till you please to appoint it otherwise."
To his brother, the
Marquis of Tullibardine, Lord George wrote still more fully. In this
letter, after informing the Marquis that he had given up his commission
of Lieutenant-General, Lord George complains of a want of confidence on
the part of the Prince, in regard to the terms which were to be accepted
or rejected in the surrender of Carlisle Touching these, Charles Edward,
who was now almost completely under the control of Secretary Murray,
acted in a weak and vacillating manner. When pressed by Lord George
Murray to give him full instructions, he hesitated; Lord George
entreated him, if he could not decide during his presence in the camp,
that the Prince would send instructions after him. "When he would not
come to any fixed resolution before I came away, I begged his Royal
Highness would send his intentions and instructions after me, that I
might conduct myself by them; but his secretary told me plainly, he took
that matter to be his province, as he seems indeed to take everything
upon him both as to civil and military. There are many other things
which have determined me to wish to have no command; and it is some time
past since I observed things must go into utter contusion. I shall show,
as a volunteer, that no man wishes more success to the cause; and I can
be of more use charging in the first rank of your Atholl men than as a
general, where I was constantly at a loss to know what was doing. 1 am
of opinion you should reduce your men to two battalions; one for Lord
Nairn, the other Mr. Mercer. When you are quartered anywhere, if you
have a hole to spare, I shall be as often with you as I can; at other
times, I shall lye with the men in a barn, which I doubt not will
hearten them much. In every thing, as a volunteer, I shall do all I can
to advance the service; but am determined never to act as an officer. I
have several things to say at meeting. If you have occasion for tent or
horses, they are at your service, for 1 design to keep none, but make
presents of them all.
"Adieu! Yours, George
Murray."
"Haroby, 10th Nov. 1745."
Not only were the seeds
of disunion thus sown between the Prince and the Generals, but also
between the Marquis of Tullibardine and Lord George Murray.
"I did expect," writes
Lord George to the Marquis, "that you would have upon occasion stood my
friend; but I find you are too apt to hearken to designing people, by
your being so ready to blame me before I was heard; and, except you show
some regard for me, how can I expect it of others? I told his Royal
Highness that you had acquainted me that he desired to see me. He said,
No, he had nothing particular to say to me. I told him I should be as
ready to serve in a private station, and as a volunteer, in the first
rank of your men, as ever 1 could be in any other He said I might do so.
Nothing else passed. I spoke a good time to Sir Thomas Sheridan, and
told him in particular, that if anything was taken amiss in my letter,
as having expressed my attachment to the King, without having mentioned
his Royal Highness, it was very injurious to me; for having mentioned
the King and royal family, (and designing my letter to be short,) I
thought it needless to be more particular; for surely, next to the King,
I would serve none on earth before his Royal Highness: which, after what
I have shown, and oil my actions since I joined the standard, could not
be called in question. I mentioned several particulars, wherein I showed
that I hod no authority in the station I was ifi, and that others acted
as General who had not any call, but used his Royal Highness's name.
That in the drudgery, I was employed, but anything of moment was done
without my participation. That, in short, I had ventured my all—life,
fortune, family—every thing, my honour; which last I had some to lose,
but none to gain, in the way things were managed, and therefore resolved
upon a private station."
The concluding paragraph
of this painful letter is written with a force and bitterness which show
how deeply this ardent servant of a tailing cause was wounded by what he
justly deemed unmerited caprice and disrespect. "I wish you would be
careful of the Atholl men, that they be not slighted; which never should
have happened as long as I had any command. I find scarce any of them
have got even thanks for venturing life and fortune, and even the
gallows; and, which is worse, (I don't know how it is come about,) they
are not thought equally good with other men. If you would send me the
notes, that were made out, of the way of modelling them into two
different regiments, I would do, now that I have time to do it, as much
as possible for the good of the service and general comfort. I always
am, dear brother, your most faithful and humble servant and affectionate
brother,
"George Murray."
"Hsroby, 10th Nov. 1745."
There was also another
source of complaint, which, though appearing on the surface to have
originated with the Duke of Perth, was clearly traceable to the Prince,
or rather to his adviser, Secretary Murray. A marked slight had been
passed on Lord George Murray on the very night on which the battery on
Carlisle was opened. lie had gone into the trenches; and, seeing the
Duke of Perth there, he had desired him, in case of anything
extraordinary happening, to let him know, and that he would aid him by
every means in his power. "What private orders the Duke had was not
known; but, far from applying to Lord George for aid or counsel, he sent
to Brampton, seven miles' distance, whenever any difficulty occurred,
and acquainted the Prince with it, hut took no notice of Lord George,
although he was an older officer than himself, and had been sent to
Harroby to cover the siege. Upon this, Lord George, who thought he was
entitled to know what had passed in the trenches, complained, but
received no satisfactory answer: and thus aggrieved, and, as he
conceived, insulted, he sent that letter to the Prince, which has justly
been censured as making an invidious distinction between the young
Chevalier and his father."
These acts of
indiscretion and intemperance were followed by another proceeding still
less worthy of the soldier and the man of honour: Lord George Murray
indeed lowered himself, when, at the same time that he wrote to the
Prince, he set on foot a petition praying Charles that he would dismiss
all Noman Catholics from his councils. This was aimed at the Luke of
Perth and Sir Thomas Sheridan; nor can we assign to it any better motive
than that it was intended to reinstate Lord George Murray in the
command. Some allowance may, nevertheless, be made for the prejudices of
a Presbyterian, acting on the determined and overbearing nature of a
high-spirited man. But the. vital principles of our Christian faith tend
to soften animosities, to humble pride, and to accord to others the same
intention to act rightly as that of which we ourselves are prone to
boast. A sincere, a truly pious member of the Christian church cannot be
an intolerant partizan of certain modes of faith. There dwells within
his breast a deeper sentiment than that which is inspired by the worldly
and sublunary distinctions of sect. And Lord George Murray, seeing his
young and blameless rival, the Duke of Perth, brave, honourable, and
moderate, had shown greater zeal for true religion had he not availed
himself of an unworthy plea to base upon it, an invidious and covert
insinuation.
He was reproved by the
magnanimity of the man whom he desired to remove from the Prince's
councils. Although the Duke of Perth did not profess to acquiesce in the
opinion that it was unreasonable that he should have the chief command,
although he did not pretend to acknowledge the justice of the claim, he
nobly gave up, for the sake of a Prince whom he loved, the superiority
to Lord George Murray. His conduct on this occasion recalls the generous
sentiments of the knight and soldier in ancient times; unhappily it
failed in producing that unanimity which it was intended to effect. The
rancour between Lord George Murray and the Secretary still remained,
although it did not break out on every occasion, and sometimes gave way
to the common cause when the interests of all were at stake.
At Carlisle the forces
were reviewed and were found to amount to above five thousand foot, with
five hundred on horseback, mostly low-country gentlemen followed by
their servants, under the name of guards, hussars, &c. After a few days
rest, and after completing every arrangement for the preservation of
Carlisle, the army marched to Penrith. Lord George preceding the rest of
the forces at the head of six regiments and some horse. This was an
adventurous undertaking with so small a force; for there were now in
England above sixty thousand men in arms including the militia and the
newly raised regiments; but the Prince, observes Mr. Maxwell, had
hitherto had a wonderful run of success.He was still buoyed up with
hopes of a landing of French troops, and of an insurrection in his
favour.
On the twenty-fourth of
November the Prince marched from Carlisle to Penrith, and thence to
Lancaster, which he reached on the twenty-fifth, at the head of the
vanguard of his army. He was dressed in a light plaid belt, with a blue
sash, a blue bonnet on his head, decorated with a white rose, the sound
of the bagpipes, and the drum playing "The King shall have his own
again;" the banners, on which were inscribed the words '"Liberty and
Property, Church and King," failed, nevertheless, to inspire the cold
spectators who beheld them with a corresponding enthusiasm.
The army advanced towards
Preston, Lord George Murray commanding the van; and on the twenty-sixth
of November, the whole force assembled before that town, the very name
of which struck terror into Scottish breasts. Nor were the English
Jacobites without their tears, nor devoid of associations with the name
of a place in which the hopes of their party had been blighted in 1715,
and their banners steeped in blood.
The walls of Preston
recalled to many of the volunteers of Lancashire the prison in which
their fathers had died of fever, or starvation, or of broken hearts. It
is remarkable, as one of the newspapers of the day observes, that many
of those who joined the Chevalier's ranks were the sons of former
insurgents. "Hanging," adds the coarse party writer, "is hereditary in
some families." Lord George Murray, in order to avoid the "freit," or,
in other words, to humour the superstition of the Highlanders, who had a
notion that they never should get beyond Preston, crossed the Kibble
bridge, and landed a great many of his men on the other side of the
water, about a mile from the town, where they halted the next day,
waiting for some intelligence, of which it is presumed, says Lockhart,
"they were disappointed." Here it was necessary to divide even this
little army for the convenience of quarters. At Preston the Prince was
received with enthusiastic cheers, but when officers were ordered to
beat up for recruits, no one enlisted. The tents which had been provided
had been left on the road from Moffat to Edinburgh: and the season was
so severe, that it was impossible even for Highlanders to sleep in them;
the town was too small to receive them; the same arrangement that had
been begun at Carlisle was still pursued, and the army went in two great
divisions, though with scarcely a day's march between them. Lord George
Murray commanded what was called the low-country regiments; but the
greater part of these was, observes Mr. Maxwell, "Highlanders by their
language, and all were in their dress, for the Highland garb was the
uniform of the whole army."
The following is a List
of the Chevalier's officers and troops, taken from the History of the
Rebellion, extracted from the Scots' Magazine for 1745 and 1746, p. 60.
This List makes the amount of the forces considerably greater than the
statement given elsewhere.
One can easily conceive
what must have been the effect of this gallant force, unbroken by
fatigue or privation, and glorying in their enterprise, as they entered
into the friendly county of Lancaster, filled with Roman Catholic
gentry, who gathered around the standard of the Prince. The colours of
the Tartan, which was worn, as we have seen, by the whole of the army,
both Highlanders and Lowlanders, although denominated by a writer in the
Scots' Magazine as a "vulgar glare," never offend the eye, but are,
according to a high authority, "beautifully blended and arranged."
"Great art," observed the celebrated Mr. West, (that is to say, much
knowledge of the principles of colouring with pleasing effect,) has been
displayed in the composition of the tartans of several Clans, regarding
them in general as specimens of national taste, something analogous to
the affecting but artless strains of the native music of Scotland.
This garb, which excited
the attention and admiration of Napoleon at the battle of Waterloo,
consisted of the truis, the kilted plaid, and philibeg. The truis, be it
observed, for the benefit of the dwellers in the south, were used by
gentlemen on horseback, and by others according to their choice; but the
common garb of the people was the plaid and kilt; and this was the usual
dress down to the passing of the act for suppressing the garb. The
tartan is said to have been known in Flanders; and the tartan and kilt
to have been adopted in the Lowlands before their adoption among the
mountains. Without attempting to meddle in the dangerous and intricate
question of antiquity, it must be acknowledged that the Highland dress
is well adapted to the habits of a pastoral people, as well as being
extremely graceful and picturesque. It is also admirably fitted to
oppose the inclemency of those regions in which, among the other habits
which characterise the peculiar people who wear it, it is still regarded
as a loved and revered badge of national distinction. In the various
campaigns in Holland, the Highlanders suffered far less than other
nations in that damp and chilly climate; in the retreat to Corunna,
under the. hero Sir John Moore, their plaids bound lightly round their
bodies, they experienced the convenience of that simple form of dress in
a rapid and protracted march. Light and free, the mountaineer could
pursue, without restraint, the most laborious occupations; he could
traverse the glens, or ascend mountains which offer a hopeless aspect to
the inhabitants of more civilized spheres. But it was not only as a
convenient and durable mode of apparel that the kilt and philibeg were
advantageous. The Highland costume, when it formed a feature among
English or foreign regiments, cemented a spirit which was felt and
feared by foes. It bound those who wore it in a common bond, not to
dishonour the garb which their chiefs and their forefathers had worn, by
an act of cowardice, or by deeds of cruelty.4
Little did the English Government, or the inhabitants of the metropolis,
or probably the country in general, know the character of the brave,
ill-fated band of Highlanders, who were now advancing into the very
heart of the country. It was the custom, especially among those who
wished to gain preferment at Court, or who affected to he fashionable,
to speak of the Highlanders as low, ignorant savages; semi-barbarians,
to whom the vulgar qualities of personal courage and hardihood might be
allowed, but who had neither any urbanity to strangers, nor refined
notions of honour. The word "rebel," was a mild name for those who were
following Prince Charles's standard as it was borne southwards. The
hardened villains, u the desperadoes, rabble, thieves, bandittiti are
the terms usually employed in expressing the sovereign contempt felt by
ignorance for an honourable, religious, and primitive people. It seems
also to have been thought only necessary for the Duke of Cumberland to
show his face in the north, to put to flight a beggarly handful of
undisciplined men, whose moral character, if we might credit certain
passages in the Magazines of the day, was as low as their military
acquirements. By other nations besides their own sister country, the
same erroneous notions concerning the Scottish Highlanders prevailed. In
Germany it was conceded that they might be capable of becoming " good
and useful subjects when converted from heathenism."' The French, too.
presumed to look upon them with contempt, until they met them, when
acting as auxiliaries to other powers, so often in battle, and beheld
them so generally in the front, that they verily believed at last, there
were twelve battalions in the army instead of two; and one of their
Generals, Broglio, in after times remarked, that he had often wished to
be a man of six feet high, but that he became reconciled to his size
after he saw the wonders performed by the little mountaineers."
It is scarcely now
necessary to allude, to these errors at that time prevalent regarding
the valour of the Scottish host. Tributes from every known country have
long elevated this brave and oppressed people into a proud and
honourable position. Instead, however, of the undisciplined savages who
were supposed to be traversing the country, it was sooner found, than
acknowledged, that the intrepidity of the Highlanders was mated to
humanity, and to upright principles. To their noble qualities was added
a deep sense of' religion. In after-times it was remarked, that no trait
in the character of the Highlanders was more remarkable than the respect
which was paid by the different regiments which were eventually employed
in the British service, to their chaplains. The men when they got into
any little scrape were far more anxious, writes General Stuart, "to
conceal it from their chaplain than from their commanding officer."
But, however the public
prints might revile, and the polite society at St. James's ridicule, and
misunderstand the Highlanders, the General whose lot it was to conquer
the unfortunate Jacobites knew well of what materials their forces were
composed. The Duke of Cumberland, at the battle of Fontenoy, had been so
much pleased with the conduct of the famous Black "Watch, that he had
offered them any favour which they chose to ask, or which he could
grant, to mark his approbation. The answer to this proof of approbation
was worthy of those valiant auxiliaries, who are described by the French
as "Highland furies, who rushed in upon us with more fury than ever did
a sea driven by a tempest." The Highlanders replied, after thanking the
Royal Duke for his courtesy, "that no favour he could bestow on them
would gratify them so much as to pardon a soldier of their regiment, who
lay under a sentence of court martial, by which he was decreed to incur
a heavy corporal punishment: the infliction of which would," they said,
''bring dishonour on themselves, their friends, and their country." The
request was granted. It w as, nevertheless, the country men of these
Highlanders, men as heroic as true, as nice in their sense of honour as
the Black Watch, upon whom the Duke wreaked the utmost of his vengeance
after Culloden, whom he hunted with bloodhounds,—whose honest hearts he
broke by every possible indignity, though their gallant spirits could
never be subdued.
As the army advanced, a
great multitude assembled to gaze upon the singular spectacle. The very
arms borne by the Highlanders were objects of curiosity and surprise, no
less than of alarm, to the populace, who stood by the way-side
expressing their good-will to the expedition, but who, when asked to
join the insurgents, declined, saying, "they did not understand
fighting."* The formidable weapons with which the Highlanders contrived
to make themselves terrible to their enemies, consisted of a
broad-sword, girded on the left side, and a dirk or short thick dagger
on the right, used only when the combat was so close as to render the
broadsword useless. In ancient times, these fierce warriors brandished a
small short-handled hatchet or axe, for the purpose of a close fight. A
gun, a pair of pistols, and a target, completed their armour, except
when ammunition failed, when they substituted for the gun, the lochaber
axe; this was a species of long lance, or juke, with a formidable weapon
at the end of it, adapted either for cutting or stabbing. The lochaber
axe had fallen into disuse since the introduction of the musket; but a
rude, yet ready substitute had been found for it, by fixing scythes at
the end of a, pole, with which the Highlanders resisted the attacks of
cavalry. Such had been their arms m the early part of the Insurrection
of 1745, and such they continued until, at the battles of Falkirk and
Preston Pans, they had collected muskets from the slain on the
battle-held. In addition to these weapons, the gentlemen sometimes wore
suits of armour and coats of mail; in which, indeed, some of the
principal Jacobites have been depicted; but, with these, the common men
never incumbered themselves, both on account of the expense, and of the
weight, which was ill-adapted to their long marches and steep hills.
A distinguishing mark
which the Highland Clans generally adopted, was the badge. This was
frequently a piece of evergreen, worn on the bonnet, and placed, during
the insurrection of 1745, beside the white cockade. When Lord Lovat's
men assembled near the Aird, they wore, according to the evidence-given
on the State Trials, sprigs of yew in their bonnets. These badges,
although generally considered to have been peculiar to the clans, were,
observes a modern writer, "like armorial bearings, common to all
countries in the middle ages land, shared by the Highlanders among the
general distinctions of chivalry, were only peculiar to them when
disused by others." Thus, the broom worn by Geoifrey Plantagenet, Count
D'Anjou;—and the raspberry by Francis the First of France, were only
discontinued as an ornament to the head when transferred to the habit,
or housings; but the Highland Clans, tenacious of their customs, wore
the plant not only upon their caps, but placed them on the head of the
Clan standard. The white cockade was now regarded as the peculiar badge
of the party; yet it seems not, at all events among the Clan Fraser, to
have superseded the evergreen. Some few traces are left, in the present
day, to certify, nevertheless, that they were worn during the contest of
1745. "Lord Hardwicke's Act, and continual emigration," remarks John
Sobieski Stuart, "have extirpated the memory of these distinctions once
as familiar as the names of those who bore them , and all of whom I have
been able to collect any evidence are, the Macdonalds, the Macphersons,
the Grants, the Frasers, the Stuarts, and the Campbells." "The memory of
most," mournfully remarks the same writer, "has now perished among the
people; but, within a recent period, various lists have been
composed—some by zealous enthusiasts, who preferred substitution to
loss, and some by the purveyors of the, carpet Highlanders, who once
a-year illuminate the, splendour of a ball-room with the untarnished
broadswords and silken hose, never dimmed in the mist of a hill, or
sullied in the dew of the heather.
The Macdonalds, until a
very short period before the rebellion of 1715, were known by the
heather bow. "Let every man," said one of their chiefs of old, looking
round on a field of blooming heather, "put over his head that which is
under his feet." The destined sufferers of Glenco were marked by their
"having a fair busk of heather, well spread and displayed over the head
of a staff." The Clan Maegregor wore the fir; and the Clan Grant assumed
a similar badge; whilst the badge of the Frasers is said to have been
supplied for ages by a yew of vast size, in Glendubh, at the head of
Strath Fearg. The badge assigned to the Macphersons was the water lily,
which abounds in the Lochs of Hamkai, upon the margin of which was the
gathering place of the Clan Chattan, Some of these distinctions appear
to have been used during the year 1745, as we see in the case of the
Frasers, but all to have emerged into the one general distinction of the
Jacobites, the white rose, first worn by David the Second, at the
tournament of Windsor in 1349, when he carried the "Rose argent." This
badge had been almost forgotten in Scotland, until the year 1715, when
it was worn by the adherents of James Stuart, on his birthday, the tenth
of June. "By the Irish Catholics," observes the Editor of the "Vestiarum
Scoticum," it is still worn on the same day; but in Scotland its memory
is only now retained in the ballads of '15, and '45."
The Muses, who, as Burns
has remarked, are all Jacobites, have celebrated this badge in these
terms:—
"O' a' the days are in the
year,
The tenth o' June I lo" maiht dear,
When our white roses a' appear,
For the sake o' Jamie the Rover."
The Highland host, after
marching through Preston, to the sounds of the bagpipes, which played
"The King shall have his own again," took the road through Wigan,
towards Manchester. The Prince was informed that the English troops had
broken down the bridge at Warrington; and that circumstance, which
decided him to go through Wigan, somewhat encouraged his naturally
sanguine temper, as it showed fear on the part of the enemy. During this
march, the kind-hearted young man went on foot, except occasionally,
when we rind notice of his riding a fine horse in the public prints of
the day. He usually, however, gave up his carriage to the venerable Lord
Pitsligo, and marched at the head of one of the columns. He never took
dinner, but ate a hearty supper; and then, throwing himself upon a bed,
slept until four in the morning, when he arose, to prosecute the
fatigues of another day, fatigues which youth, a sound constitution,
and, above all, a great degree of mental energy, enabled him to endure.
Wigan, which the
Chevalier's forces now approached, had been, in the time of Queen
Elizabeth, agitated by religious differences; and the Queen's Commission
for promoting the ordinances of the Reformed Church had been there met
with a vigorous resistance. During the civil wars, this town, both from
its vicinity to Latham House, and from its attachment to Charles the
First, took a distinguished part, and obtained the characteristic
designation of the "faithful and loyal town of Wigan." After the
insurrection of 1715, the oaths of supremacy and allegiance to the
reigning family had been, in vain, strongly urged upon the inhabitants
of Lancashire, and a large mass of landed estates were, in consequence,
put in jeopardy; although it does not appear that the owners were
dispossessed of their estates, or that any other use was made of the
register taken of all the landed properties in the county, except to
assist the magistrates in the suppression of the insurrection in the
north. Nevertheless, the expectation which Charles might naturally
entertain of a general rising in Lancashire was not realized. "
Nothing," observes Mr. Maxwell, " looked like a general concurrence
until he came to Manchester."* This was remarkable, for Manchester had
been the head-quarters of many of the Parliamentary party in Lancashire
during the civil wars; whilst Preston and Wigan had both been royalist
boroughs. But a singular alteration had taken place 11 the people of
Manchester, who had changed from Roundheads to Jacobites.
During the whole of the
preceding march the Highland army had levied the public, revenue with
great accuracy; but on extortion, nor any attempts at plunder, had
disgraced their cause, nor reflected on Lord George Murray as their
General.
At Manchester, the first
organized force raised in England for the Chevalier joined Charles
Edward. It was a regiment of two hundred men, commanded by Colonel
Townley, a gentleman who had been in the French service; and was called
the Manchester Regiment. It was composed of young men of the most
reputable families in the town, of several substantial farmers and
tradesmen, and of about one hundred common men. The accession of this
troop gave great encouragement to the Prince; yet there were still many
who thought very badly of the enterprise, and the advice afterwards
given by Lord George Murray at Derby, to retreat, was also whispered at
Manchester, Lord George being resolved to retreat, should there be no
insurrection in England, nor landing from France. "At Manchester, one of
his friends told Lord George," relates Maxwell, "that he thought they
had entered far enough into England, since neither of these events had
happened." To this Lord George replied that they might make a farther
trial, and proceed to Derby; where, if there should be no greater
encouragement to go on, he should propose a retreat to the Prince, "
The reception of Prince
Charles at Manchester, was celebrated with demonstrations of
enthusiastic joy. As he marched on foot into the town, at the head of
the clans, halting to proclaim the Chevalier St. George, King, the bells
rang, and preparations were made for illuminations and bonfires in the
evening. The Prince was attended by twelve Scottish and English
noblemen: from these ho was distinguished by wearing the white cockade
on the top of his cap, in the centre, instead of on the side, as did his
general officers. Peculiarly formed to grace such occasions as a
triumphal entry into an important and friendly town, Charles Edward
quickly won the good will of the female part of the community; and the
beauty and grace of the kingdom were seen, to use a phrase of a
contemporary writer, enlisted in his behalf.
To the personal
attributes of the Prince, "joining the good nature of the Stuarts with
the spirit of the Sobieski." Charles Edward added one accomplishment
which the monarch then on the throne of England did not possess: he
spoke English well, although with a foreign accent: in this last
respect, he resembled some of those around him, more especially the Duke
of Perth, who, having been long abroad, in Tain endeavoured to conceal
the French idiom and pronunciation by affecting a broad Scottish
dialect.
Still, in spite of these
advantages, and notwithstanding the known predilection of the
Lancastrians for the cause of the Stuarts, the lowest populace alone
joined the standard of Charles. One melancholy, though admirable
exception has been already referred to in the person of Colonel Francis
Townley. This gentleman was a member of an ancient family, and the
nephew of Mr. Townley, whose seat in Townley Hall, Lancashire, lays
claim to high antiquity; and yet, is modern in comparison with a former
residence, once seated on what is still called the Castle Hill. Francis
Townley was a man of literary acquirements, which, indeed, eminently
distinguished his relative, the celebrated Charles Townley, who formed
at Koine, and afterwards brought to London, the well-known collection of
marbles which was bought by the Trustees of the British Museum for
twenty thousand pounds; (supposed to be a sum far beneath its actual
value, ) and which still graces that national structure.
The family of Townley had
been remarkable for their fidelity to the Stuarts long before Colonel
Francis Townley raised a troop for the Chevalier. The grandfather of
this unfortunate man, had been tried for rebellion, in 1715, but
acquitted; it was therefore very unlikely that when his accomplished
descendant espoused the same ill-starred cause, there would be any mercy
shown to a family so deeply implicated in Jacobitism. Francis Townley
was afterwards taken prisoner, and tried with other persons, chiefly
captains in the Manchester regiment. Of these the greater number were
hung on Kennington Common. The head of Colonel Town-ley was severed from
his body, according to sentence, after death, and was placed upon Temple
Bar; but those of most of his brothers in arms were preserved in
spirits, and sent into the country, to be placed in public situations in
Manchester and Carlisle.
Prince Charles now
prepared to proceed on his march to Macclesfield, while Lord George
Murray was sent with his division to Conglcton. The accompaniments of
the Jacobite army, if we can venture to believe a letter inserted in the
Gentleman's Magazine for 1745, and purporting to be written by a lady in
Preston to her friend in London, formed a singular spectacle. Four
ladies of some distinction are stated in this letter to have marched
with the army. These were Lady Ogilvie, Mrs. Murray of Broughton, a lady
of great beauty and spirit, the celebrated Jenny Cameron, and another
female, unknown, but who is supposed to have been the mistress of Sir
Thomas Sheridan. The populace, nevertheless, mistook Sheridan for a
priest, and assigned to him the nick-name of the "Archbishop of
Canterbury." The first two ladies went in a chariot by themselves; the
others were in a coach and six with the young Chevalier, to whose
dejection and weariness as he passed through Preston, Jenny Cameron is
said to have administered cordials. By the same writer the Jacobite
arm}- are described as looking like "hunted hares." Such is a specimen
of one of the ephemeral slanders of the day; and the circumstance of the
coach and six tends to disprove the whole letter. The Prince, it is
evident from every isolated account, inarched on foot until he entered
Derby.® It was. however, perfectly true that Mrs. Murray of Broughton
and Lady Ogilvie, whose husbands were both with the army, attended the
movements of the Highland force.
And now were the merits
of Lord George Murray as a General, certain very soon to be called into
active play; for, on the twenty-sixth of November. William Augustus,
Duke of Cumberland, had left London at the head of an army, to oppose
the insurgents.
On the character of the
royal individual who, in his twenty-fifth year came forward to rescue
his country, as it was said, from the yoke of a foreign invader; and
whose promising, but immature talents, backed by a great military force,
were effectual in defeating the skill of an experienced General, some
reflections will naturally arise.
William, Duke of
Cumberland, was born in the year 1721. He very early demonstrated that
predilection for military affairs which obtained for him from Walpole
the praise of having been " one of the five only really great men whom
he had ever seen." He very soon, also, betrayed that cruel and
remorseless spirit which was wreaked on the brave and the defenceless;
that indifference to suffering which too aptly was repaid by an
indignant people with the name of " the Butcher;" — that thirst for
blood which we read of in Heathen countries, before the commandments of
the God of Israel, or the beautiful commentary of a Saviour of Mercy
upon those sacred commandments, had chastened and humanized the people.
Those tendencies which, whilst England was elate with success, and when
she gloried in a suppressed rebellion, raised the Duke of Cumberland to
a hero;—and. when reflection came, sank him to a brute; were manifested
in the dawn of youth. In after years, (what extreme of odium could be
greater?)—even children instinctively feared him. One day, when playing
with his nephew, afterwards George the Third, a child,
the Duke drew a sword to
amuse him. The incident occurred long after the mouldering bones upon
the field of Culloden were whitened in the sun; long after the brave
Balmerino had suffered, and vengeance had revelled in the doom of the
beloved Kilmarnock But the sins of the remorseless Cumberland cried to
Heaven. They were registered in the mind of a child. The boy turned pale
and trembled, and acknowledged that he thought his "uncle Cumberland was
going to kill him.'' The Duke shocked and deeply hurt, referred to
popular prejudice the impression which was the result of crime.
Imperious, aspiring,
independent, the grasping and able intellect of the Duke soon imbibed a
knowledge of affairs beyond his years. When scarcely out of the nursery
he loved the council chamber, and delighted in the recitals of foreign
wars. As he reached manhood, he. affected a lofty and philosophical
coldness; a dangerous attribute in youth, and one which either springs
from a frigid disposition, or else infallibly contracts the heart. But,
in the case of the Duke of Cumberland, it concealed a proud and selfish
spirit, which could ill brook the superiority of his elder brother,
Frederic, Prince of Wales, or bear with temper the popularity of
another. When, in after years, his brother's death was communicated to
him, those jealous and disdainful feelings broke, forth. "It is a great
blow to the country," he said, sarcastically; "but I hope, in time, it
will recover it." That want of faith in human nature, of reverence for
good motives, that absence of a generous confidence which one can
suppose strongly characterise the lost angels, were among the many
odious features in the character of this truly had man The prevailing
feeling of his mind was, for everything and everybody;—a contempt for
renown;—a contempt, in after life, for politics, which he conceived were
below his attention; a contempt for women, whom he lowered by a sort of
preference consistent with the rest of his coarse character, but whose
modest virtues he mistrusted. With this affectation of superiority, the
Duke combined the littleness of envy. When he had attained the height of
his popularity, his satisfaction was tarnished by the reputation of
Admiral Vernon, who was the idol of the public. As a General, his
acknowledged and eminent qualities were sullied by the German
puerilities of an exact attention to, military trifles; any deficiency
in etiquette was punished like a crime: the formation of a new pattern
of spatterdashes was treated as an important event. Nor was this all. It
introduced into an army of Englishmen the German notions of military
severity; he fostered a system which it has taken nearly a century of
great efforts, and good works in the humane, to annul. ' lie was," says
Horace Walpole, "a Draco in legislation;" adding, "that in the Duke's
amended mutiny bill the word ' Death' occurred at every clause." —Such
is the general colouring of his public character. A strong and sensitive
feeling with regard to the national honour ; a devoted reverence for the
sovereign authority; which wore the only principles and institutions
which he seemed to respect, are the milder traits. In private, he
countenanced, by his own practice, most of those vices winch scarcely
existed with greater impunity, or with less inconvenience from public
opinion, in the days of Charles the Second, than in those in which
Cumberland flourished, and left a finished model of a character without
one redeeming excellence.
As a soldier, however,
the merits of the Dub1., if merits those can be called which were the
natural effects of animal courage, and of a strong, remorseless mind,
must be, et all events, acknowledged. lie behaved •with great gallantry
in his first campaign with his royal father, and was wounded at the
battle of Dettingen. At too early an age, in 1741, he was placed at the
head of a great army, in order to oppose Marshal Saxe; and the event of
the battle of Fontenoy proved the error. But, in that engagement, the
valour of the young General was admitted on all hands. "His Royal
Highness," relates the author of "The Conduct of the Officers at
Fontenoy" considered was everywhere, and could not without being on the
spot have cheered that Highlander who with his broad sword killed nine
men, and making a stroke at the tenth, had his arm shot off,—by a
promise of something better than the arm which he, the Duke, saw drop
from him."
It was with the hope of
retrieving the lost reputation of the Duke at Fontenoy, and in order to
remedy the glaring defects of General Hawley, that this young man, old
in hardened feelings, but full of ardour and courage, was sent to repel
the forces of the Chevalier. It was also thought by the Government that
the placing a prince of the blood-royal at the head of the army would
have a powerful influence on the minds of the people, and neutralize the
counter-influence of Charles Edward. The Duke therefore assumed the
command of an army ten thousand strong, and set out from London to
intimidate the enemy.
The Duke of Cumberland
was by no means so ignorant of the force which he was now destined to
attack, as were most of the other "good people of England, who knew as
little of their neighbours of the Scottish mountains, as they did of the
inhabitants of the most remote quarter of the globe." In the battle of
Fontenoy, the Duke of Cumberland had become acquainted with the peculiar
mode of fighting practised by the Highlanders, in the manoeuvre of the
"Black Watch," or 42nd; and had shown his judgment in allowing them to
fight in their own way. This gallant regiment, in which many of the
privates were gentlemen, were exempted at this time from the service of
crushing the rebellion, only to have a duty, perhaps more cruel and more
unwarrantable, forced upon them, after the battle of Culloden. By a
singular circumstance, the Black Watch was commanded by Lord John
Murray, a brother of Lord George Murray's, Sir Robert Munro officiating
as acting Colonel.
At Macclesfield, Prince
Charles gained the intelligence that the Duke of Cumberland had taken
the command of Ligoniex's army, and that he was quartered at Lichfield,
Coventry, Stafford, and Newcastle-under-Line. The Prince then resolved
to go direct to Derby; and it was to conceal his design, and to induce
the Duke to collect his whole army at Lichfield, that Lord George Murray
marched with a division of the army to Congleton, which was the road to
Lichfield. Congleton, being on the borders of Staffordshire, was
sufficiently near Newcastle-under-Line for Lord George to send General
Ker to that place to gain intelligence of the enemy. General Ker
advanced to a village about three miles from Newcastle, and very nearly
surprised a body of dragoons, who had only time to make off. He took one
prisoner, a man named Weir, who was a noted spy, and who had been at
Edinburgh during the whole of the Prince's stay there, and had since
always kept within one day's march of the army. It was proposed to hang
Lira; but Charles could not be brought to consent to the measure, and
insisted that Weir was not, strictly speaking, a spy, since he wore no
disguise. "I cannot tell," observes Mr. Maxwell, "whether the Prince on
this occasion was guided by his opinion or by his inclination: I suspect
the latter, because t was his constant practice to spare his enemies
when they were in his power. 1 don't believe there was an instance to
the contrary to be found in this expedition."
Upon the third of
December, Lord George Murray with his division of the army marched by
Leek to Ashbourn; and the Prince, With the rest of the forces, came from
Macclesfield to Leek, where, considering the distance of the two columns
of his army, and the neighbourhood of the enemy, he naturally considered
his situation as somewhat precarious. It was possible for the enemy, by
a night-march, to get betwixt the two columns; and, contemplating this
danger, the Prince set out at midnight to Ashboiirn, where it was
conceived that the forces should proceed in one body towards Derby.
"Thus," remarks a modern historian, "two armies in succession had been
eluded by the Highlanders; that of Wade at Newcastle, in consequence of
the weather or the old Marshal's inactivity, and that of Cumberland
through the ingenuity of their own leaders."
Charles Edward and his
officers slept at Ashbourn Hall, now in the possession of Sir William
Boothby, Baronet; into whose family the estate passed in the time of
Charles the Second.
The young Prince had now
advanced far into that county which has no rival in this Island in the
beauty and diversity of its scenery, in the simple, honest character of
its fine peasantry, in the rank and influence of its landed proprietors.
The history of these families is connected with the civil, and foreign
wars of the kingdom; and already had the moors and valleys of Derbyshire
been the scene of contest which had the Restoration of the Stuarts for
their aim and end. In 1044, a battle was fought near Ashbourn, in which
the Royalists were defeated; in 1845, just a century before Charles
Edward entered Ashbourn, Charles the First had attended service in the
beautiful gothic church of Ashbourn, as he marched his army through the
Peak towards Doncaster.
The inhabitants of the
district retained some portion of their ancient loyalty to the Stuarts.
As Prince Charles ascended the height, from which, leading towards
Derby, a view of the town of Ashbourn, seated in a deep valley, and of
the adjacent and romantic country, may be seen, the roads were lined
with peasantry, decorated with white cockades, and showing their
sentiments by loud acclamations, bonfires, and other similar
demonstrations. "One would have thought," remarks Mr. Maxwell, "that the
Prince was now at the crisis of his adventure; that his fate, and the
fate of the three kingdoms, must be decided in a few days." The Duke of
Cumberland was at Lichfield; General Wade, who was moving up with his
army along the west side of Yorkshire, was about this time at Ferry
Bridge, within two or three days' march. So that the Erince was, with a
handful of brave, indeed, but undisciplined men, betwixt two armies of
regular troops, one of them above double, the other almost double, his
number." It was owing to the skill and prudence of Lord George Murray
that this gallant but trifling force was enabled to return to Scotland,
for scarcely ever was there a handful of valiant men placed in a
situation of more imminent peril.
Derby, which is fifteen
miles from Ashbourn, was thrown into the utmost confusion and disorder
when the news that the vanguard of the insurgent army was approaching it
became generally known. "The hurry,'' says a. contemporary writer, "was
much increased by the number of soldiers, and their immediate orders to
march out of town, and nothing but distraction was to be read in every
countenance. The best part of the effects and valuables had been sent
away or secreted some days before, and most of the principal gentlemen
and tradesmen, with their wives and children, were retiring as fast as
possible."
The borough of Derby,
although by no means so opulent when Charles Edward and his friends
visited it as in the present day, presented, perhaps, a far more
appropriate scene for the faint and transient shadow of a Court, than it
now affords. It had, even within the memory of man, an aspect singularly
dignified, important, and antique in its streets; and it still possesses
many residences which are adapted for the higher orders, rather than for
the industrious burgesses of a town. These are chiefly seated on the
outside of the town. They were, so late as 1712, and perhaps much later,
''inhabited by persons of quality, arid many coaches were kept there."
To the west, King's Mead, where formerly there was a monastery of the
Benedictine order, is now graced by a series of stately detached
residences, which, under the modernized name of Nun's Green, constitute
the court end of Derby. But, interspersed in the streets, there are
still many ancient tenements in which Prince Charles and his high-born
adherents might find suitable accommodation.
Party feeling ran high in
Derby, and most of its leading and priucipal denizens were Tories, and
even Jacobites. It was in Derby that Henrv Sacheverell preached his
famous sermon, on "Communication of Bin." This literary firebrand was
first thrown out to the High-Church party in 1709, when the High
Sheriff, George Sacheverell, of Callow, was attended by Dr. Henry
Sachcverell as his chaplain, and the walls of All Saints Church
resounded with the denunciations of that vehement, and ill-Judging man.
The seed that was thus sown fell into a land fertile in High Church
propensities; the Grand Jury intreated Dr. Sacheverell to print his
discourse; and, eventually, when they considered that, by the mild
sentence given against their Preacher on his trial, they had gained a
triumph, bonfires proclaimed their joy, in the market-place of that-
town, where the warfare of Sacheverell had first begun.
On the accession of
George the First, and when the Chevalier landed in Scotland, fresh
manifestations of the Jacobite party broke forth. The Church of All
Saints was again the scene of its display. Three principal clergymen in
the town openly espoused the Stuart cause. Sturges, the Rector of All
Saints, prayed openly for "King James"—but, after a moment's pause,
said, "I mean King George." "The congregation became tumultuous; the
military gentlemen drew their swords, and ordered him out of the pulpit,
into which he never returned." Perhaps the event which tended most to
quiet the spirit of Jacobitism among the lower classes in the town, was
the erection of silk mills, in 1717; Nothing tranquillises extreme views
in politics mere surely than employment; few things attach men's minds
to a Government more, than efforts crowned with success. Notwithstanding
the memory of Sacheverell, a Whig member had been returned, in the last
election, for the borough; the great merits and influence of the House
of Cavendish overpowering the uproarious Tories, who, in vain, broke
windows, and attacked their enemies. P»ut discontent again broke forth.
The winter of 1745 found the whole nation in a state of suffering and
discontent; and many of the constitutional securities for liberty and
property had been given up, in order to secure the stability of the
throne. Taxation had been imposed, in the worst and most unpopular form,
that of excise duties, in order to maintain an expensive Court, and to
pay for Continental wars, which were maintained to preserve the
hereditary German possessions of the King. Yet, in spite of these crying
evils, such is the difficulty of inducing Englishmen to incur the risk
of forfeiture and disaster, that even the town of Derby had diligently
provided itself with a defence against the Chevalier's divided forces,
on hearing of their approach.
During the month of
September 1745, in consequence of instructions from London, the Duke of
Devonshire, attended by the greatest appearance of gentlemen ever seen
in the town before, assembled the clergy, in order to consider of such
measures as were necessary for the support of the Government. An
association was entered into, and sums were liberally contributed, after
a splendid dinner, at that ungrateful inn, the George, which, during the
sojourn of Charles Edward at Derby, changed its sign, into the safe and
ambiguous title of the King's Head. Two companies of volunteers, of six
hundred men each, were raised by the association. A proposal to call out
the county militia was vehemently negatived, probably from that spirit
of distrust which pervaded the councils of King George's Government. By
an order in council, passed in the previous September, all Roman
Catholics had been prohibited from keeping a horse of above five pounds
in value, and restrained from going five miles from their dwellings. It
was, therefore, deemed advisable to select the volunteer forces from the
well-affected, and not to employ the militia of a county so manifestly
disposed to foster the young adventurer as Derbyshire was at that time
considered. During the month of November, a great degree of alarm had
disturbed the burgesses of Derby; and from the communications of the
Duke of Devonshire, then Lord-Lieutenant of the county, to the Mayor, it
appears that the young Chevalier completely baffled the Duke of
Cumberland and General Wade, by his rapid movement into the very heart
of England.*
So late as the twelfth of
December, the Duke of Devonshire and his eldest son, the Marquis of
Harrington, were stationed at the George Inn, to watch the event of the
coming storm, and to concert means for averting the threatened danger.
Some days previously, the Duke had reviewed a company of six hundred
volunteers, together with one hundred and twenty men raised at his own
expense; and those townsmen, who were not Jacobites, were in high
spirits, concluding that the Duke of Cumberland must have overtaken and
attacked the insurgents. On the evening of the twelfth, the soldiers
were summoned to the market-place, where they stood for some hours; they
were then sent to quarters to refresh themselves; about ten the drums
beat to arms, and, being again drawn out, these valiant defenders of the
Borough marched out of the. town, by torch-light, towards Nottingham,
headed by the Duke of Devonshire.
On the following morning,
about eleven, two of the vanguard of the insurgent army rode into the
town; and, after seizing a very good horse, belonging to a Mr. Stamford,
went to the George Inn, and there inquiring for the magistrates, they
demanded billets for nine thousand men, or more.
In a short time
afterwards, the vanguard itself rode into the town; this detachment
consisted of about thirty men; they are described in the account of a
cotemporary writer, probably an eye witness, as "likely men," making a
good appearance, in blue regimentals faced with red, with scarlet
waistcoats trimmed with gold lace. They posted themselves in the
Marketplace, where they rested for two or three hours; at the same time
hells were rung, and bonfires made upon the pretext of :t preventing any
resentment" from the rebels that might ensue upon a cold reception.
About midday, Lord George Murray, Lord Elcho, and several other chiefs
arrived, with troops to the number of one hundred and fifty, the flower
of the army, who made "a fine show." Soon afterwards the main body
marched into the town in tolerable order, six or eight abreast, with
about eight standards, most of them having a white flag with a red
cross. But the appearance of the main body was totally different to that
of the vanguard, and justified the contemptuous opinion and expectations
formed by the loyal inhabitants of Derby, of their coining foe As they
marched along, the sound of their bagpipes was heard, for the first
time, m the crowded and ancient streets of the borough; but the dress
and bearing of these brave, but ill-accoutred men excited the derision
of the thriving population of an important country town. They were, says
the writer in the Derby Mercury of the day, " a parcel of shabby,
pitiful looking fellows, mixed up with old men and boys, dre&scd in
dirty plaids, and as dirty shirts, without breaches, and wore their
stockings, made of plaid, not half way up their legs, and some without
their shoes, or next to none, and numbers of them so fatigued with their
long march, that they really commanded our pity more than our fear.
About five in the
evening, when it was nearly dark, the Prince, with the other column,
arrived. He walked on foot, attended by a great body of men, to a house
appointed for his reception, belonging to Lord Exeter, and seated in
Full-street. Here guards were placed around the temporary abode of the
Prince; and here, during his stay at Derby, he held his councils.
"Every house," adds the
writer before quoted, was pretty well filled (though they kept driving
in till ten or eleven at night), and we thought we should never have
seen the last of them. The Duke of Atholl had his lodgings at Thomas
Gisborne's, Esq.; the Duke of Eerth at Mr. Evett's; Lord Elcho at Mr,
Storer's; Lord Pitsligo at Mr. Mevnell's; Lord George Murray at Mr.
Heathcote's; Old Gordon, of Glenbucket, at Mr. Alderman Smith's; Lord
Nairn at Mr. John Bingham's; Lady Ogilvie, Mrs. Murray, and some other
persons of distinction at Mr. Francey's; and their chiefs and great
officers were lodged in the best gentlemen's houses. Many ordinary
houses both public and private, had forty or fifty men each, and some
gentlemen near one hundred.'
The Prince, upon his
arrival at Derby, resolved to halt for one day, and to take the advice
of his council what was to be done at this juncture. His hopes were
high, and his confidence in the good-will of the people of England to
his cause was unabated. He continued to entertain the notion that George
the Second was an usurper, for whom no man would willingly draw his
sword; that "the people of England, as was their duty, still nourished
that allegiance for the race of their native Princes which they were
bound to hold sacred, and that if he did but persevere in his daring
attempt, Heaven itself would fight in his cause." His conversation, when
at table, beneath the roof of Exeter House, turned on the discussion
"how he should enter London, whether on foot, or on horseback, or
whether in Highland or in Lowland garb." Nor was Charles Edward singular
in his sanguine state of mind. It was observed, says Mr. Maxwell, " that
the army never was in better spirits than while at Derby."
The judgment which Lord
George Murray had formed at Manchester, remained, however, unaltered by
all these expectations. On the following morning, when the council met,
he represented to the Prince that they had marched so far into the
country, depending on French succours, or on an insurrection, neither of
which had taken place; that the Prince's army, by itself, was wholly
unprepared to face the troops which the "Elector of Hanover," as Lord
George denominated him, had assembled. Besides General Wade's army,
which was coming to oppose them, and that of the Duke of Cumberland,
forming together a force of between seventeen and eighteen thousand
strong, there was a third army, encamped on Finchley Common, of which
George the Second was going to take the command in person.
Even supposing that the
Prince should be successful in an engagement with one of these armies,
"he might be undone by a victory." The loss of one thousand or fifteen
hundred men would incapacitate the rest of his small force from another
encounter; and supposing that he was routed in that country, he and all
his friends must unavoidably be killed. On the whole, including the army
formed at London, there would be a force of thirty thousand men to
oppose an army of five thousand lighting men; that before such a host,
pursued Lord George, '"it could not be supposed one man could escape;
for the militia, who had not appeared much against us hitherto, would,
upon our defeat, possess all the roads, and the enemy's horse would
surround us on all hands; that the whole world would blame us as being
rash and foolish, to venture a tiling that could not succeed, and the
Prince's person, should he escape being killed in the battle, must fall
into the enemy's hands."
"His Royal Highness,"
continues Lord George Murray in his narrative, "had no regard to his own
danger, but pressed with all the force of argument to go forward. He did
not doubt but the justness of his cause would prevail, and he could not
think of retreating after coming so far; and he was hopeful there might
be a defection in the enemy's army, and that several would declare for
him. He was so very bent on putting all to the risk, that the Duke of
Perth was for it, since his Royal Highness was. At last, he proposed
going to Wales, instead of returning to Carlisle, but every other
officer declared his opinion for a retreat, which some thought would be
scarce practicable. I said all that I thought of to persuade the
retreat, and, indeed, the arguments to me seemed unanswerable; and for
the danger, though I owned an army upon a retreat did not light with
equal valour as when they advanced, yet, if the thing were agreed to, I
offered to make the retreat, and be always in the rear myself ; and that
each regiment would take it by turns till we came to Carlisle; and that
the army should march in such order, that if I were attacked, I might be
supported as occasion required, and without stopping the army (except a
very great body of the enemy should be upon me), I would send
aide-decamps to desire such assistance as I should judge the occasion
would require; but that I really believed there would be no great
danger; for, as we were informed, the Duke of Cumberland was at
Stafford, and would in all appearance, that night or next morning, be
drawing near London to intercept us, so that if our design were not
mentioned till next morning that it should be put in execution, we would
be got to Ashbourn before he could have certain information of our
design to retreat."
The Prince, who was
naturally bold and enterprising, and who had been hitherto successful in
everything, was indignant at this. Since he had set out from Edinburgh,
he had never had a thought but of going on, and fighting everything in
his way to London. He had the highest idea of the bravery of his own
men, and a despicable opinion of his enemies, and hitherto with good
reason; and he was confirmed in these notions by some of those that were
nearest his person; these sycophants, more intent upon securing his
favour than promoting his interest, "were eternally saying whatever they
thought would please, and never hazarded a disagreeable truth."
A connected narrative of
the proceedings in council has been given by Lord Elcho; and, at the
risk of some recapitulations, it is here inserted, not having been
previously published entire.
The fifth, in the
morning, Lord George Murray, and all the commanders of battalions and
squadrons, waited on the Prince, and Lord George told him that it was
the opinion of every body present that the Scots had now done all that
could be expected of them. That they had marched into the heart of
England, ready to join any party that would declare for him. That none
had done so, and that the counties through which the army had passed had
seemed much more enemies, than friends, to Ids cause. That there were no
French landed in England; and that if there was any party in England for
him, it was very odd that they had never so much as either sent him
money or intelligence, or the least advice what to do. But if he could
produce any letter from any person of distinction, in which there was an
invitation for the army to go to London, or to any other part of
England, that they were ready to go; but if nobody had either invited
them, or meddled in the least in their affairs, it was to be supposed
that there was either no party at all, or, if there was, they did not
choose to act with them, or else they would ere now have let him know
it. Suppose even the army marched on and beat the Duke of Cumberland,
yet, in the battle they must lose some men ; and they had, after that,
the king's own army, consisting of seven hundred men, near London to
deal with. On the contrary, if either of these armies beat them, there
would not a man escape; as the militia, although they durst never face
the army while in a body, yet they would have courage enough to put an
end to them if ever they were routed; and so the people that were in
armies in Scotland would fall an easy sacrifice to the fury of the
Government. Again, suppose the army was to slip the King's and Duke's
army, and get into London, the success of the affair would entirely
depend on the mob's declaring for or against it; and that if the mob had
been much inclined to his cause since his march into England, to be sure
some of his friends in London would have fallen upon some method to let
bin know it; but if the mob was against the affair, four thousand five
hundred men would not make a great figure in London. Lord George
concluded by saying, that the Scots army had done their part; that they
came into England at the Prince's request, to join his English friends,
and to give them courage by their appearance to take arms and declare
for him publicly, as they had done, or to join the French if they had
landed. But as none of these things had happened, that certainly four
thousand five hundred Scots had never thought of putting a king on the
English throne by themselves. So he said his opinion was, they should go
back and join their friends in Scotland, and live and die with them.
"After Lord George had
spoken, all the rest of the gentlemen present spoke their sentiments,
and they all agreed with Lord George except two (the Duke of Perth and
Sir William Gordon), who were for going to Wales to see if the Welch
would join.
"The Prince heard all
these arguments with the greatest impatience, fell into a passion, and
gave most of the gentlemen that had spoke very abusive language; and
said they had a mind to betray him. The case was, he knew nothing about
the country, nor had the smallest idea of the force that was against
him, nor how they were situated." Fully convinced that the regular army
would never dare to fight against him, and trusting to the consciences
of men more than to the broad sword of his army, he always believed that
he should enter St. James's with as little difficulty as he had done
Holyrood-house. "He continued," says Lord Elcho, "all that day positive
he would march to London. The Irish in the army were always for what he
was for, and were heard to say, that day, ' that they knew if they
escaped being killed, the worst that could happen to them was a few
months imprisonment.'
The reluctance of the
unfortunate and brave young Chevalier was increased by the evident
ardour which his men, in the expectation of an engagement with the Duke
of Cumberland, were at that very instant displaying, whilst the
arguments which sealed Charles Edward's fate, resounded within the walls
of Exeter-house. The Highlanders, whose heroism balanced the inequality
of the respective forces, breathed nothing but a desire for the combat.
They were to be seen, during all that eventful day, in crowds before the
shops of the cutlers, quarrelling who should be the first to get their
swords sharpened.* In the very midst of the discussions, a courier
arrived from Lord John Drummond, informing the Prince that he had landed
at Montrose with his regiment, the Scottish Brigade, newly raised in
France, and some pickets of the Irish Brigade, the rest of which would
probably be in Scotland before the letter reached the Prince. But this
favourable intelligence, far from lessening the desire of Lord George to
secure a retreat, rather increased his determination to uphold that
resolution; and emboldened him to unfold to Charles Edward a plan for a
Scottish campaign, which, he thought, might be prosecuted with
advantage. In retreating to Scotland, the Prince, he argued, would have
the advantage of retiring upon his reinforcements, which included the
Highlanders at Perth, and the succours brought by Lord John Drummond. He
concluded his address by a request, in the name of the persons present,
that they should go back and join their friends in Scotland, to live or
die with their countrymen.
Two councils were held
upon this important subject, for in the afternoon the Prince convened
another, to consider of the advices which the courier sent by Lord John
Drummond had brought. "The debates," observes the Chevalier Johnstone,
"were very keen." The Prince obstinately insisted upon giving battle to
the Duke of Cumberland 011 the next day, the sixth; but he stood alone
in that opinion. The Chiefs of Clans, who, since the council held at
Perth, had never opposed the Prince in anything, feeling that they had
now advanced too far to retreat, nevertheless opposed the march to
London. They pointed to the coldness with which the insurgent army had
hitherto been received; and asked how, supposing by some miracle the
forces were to reach London, an army of four thousand men would appear
among a population of a million people? The Prince still insisted upon
marching to London; he even opposed the retreat, on the ground of the
immense risk The Duke of Cumberland, he contended, would pursue them
hotly, and be always at their heels. Marshal Wade, he remarked, would
certainly receive orders to intercept the army, so that they would "be
placed between two fires, and caught as it were, in a net."
This argument was met by
the assurances which have been already stated in Lord George Murray's
own language—that he would manage the retreat, taking always the rear.
That he ably and effectually fulfilled that promise, was shown in the
result.
At length the Prince,
finding the greater part of the council was of Lord George's opinion,
and deserted even by the Duke of Perth, who, after for long time resting
his head 011 the fire-place in silence, accorded loudly with the Clans,
consented to the retreat. This assent, wrung from him, was given with
these bitter words,—" Bather than go back," exclaimed the high-spirited
young man, "I would wish to be twenty feet under ground. henceforth," he
added, haughtily, "I will hold no more Councils, for I am accountable to
no one for my actions, except to my father."
The usual double-dealing,
and factious contention of party, succeeded this painful scene in the
council. "After the council was dismissed," says Mr. Maxwell, "some of
those who had voted against the retreat, and the Secretary, who had
spoken warmly for it in private conversation with the Prince, condemned
this resolution, and endeavoured to instil some suspicion of the courage
and fidelity of those who had promoted it. The Prince was easily
persuaded that he had been too complaisant in consenting to a retreat,
but would not retract the consent he had given, unless he could bring
back those to whom he had given it over to his own sentiments; which he
hoped he might be able to do, since the Secretary had altered his
opinion. With this view he called another meeting of the Council, in the
evening, but found all the rest, to a man, firm in their former
sentiments; upon which, the Prince gave up a second time his own opinion
and inclination, to the advice and desire of his Council."
The character of one
individual was, however, elicited in this affair. "From this time,"
observes Mr. Maxwell, "the Secretary ceased to be in odour of sanctity
with those that were not highly prejudiced in his favour. The little
knave appeared plainly in his conduct on this occasion. He argued
strenuously for the retreat, because he thought it; the only prudent
measure, till he found it was carried by a great majority, and would
certainly take place; and then lie condemned it, to make his court to
the Prince, to whom it was disagreeable, and lay the odium upon ether
people, particularly Lord George, whom he endeavoured to blacken on
every occasion.' Some people will wonder that this barefaced conduct did
not open the Prince's eyes as to the baseness of Secretary Murray's
heart; "but," says Maxwell, "if we consider that Murray was in the
highest degree of favour, the steps by which he rose to it, and the arts
he used to maintain himself and exclude everybody that could come in
competition with him, he will easily conceive how he got the better of
any suspicions his behaviour might have created at this time."
The question, whether the
arguments of Lord George Murray were guided by wisdom, or whether they
might be better characterised as the result of a cold, and, in this
case, unworthy prudence, has been very differently canvassed.
"There are not a few,"
observes Mr. Maxwell, "who still think the Prince would have carried his
point had he gone on from Derby; they build much upon the confusion
there was at London, and the panic which prevailed among the Elector's
troops at this juncture." It is impossible to decide with any degree of
certainty, whether he would or would not have-succeeded,—that depended
upon the disposition of the Army and of the City of London, ready to
declare for the Prince. What could he do with four thousand four hundred
men, suppose he got to London, whatever were the, dispositions of the
Army and the City?
It is certain the Prince
hail no intelligence from either. This leads me to examine the conduct
of the Prince's friends in England. The cry was general against them
about this time in the Prince's army, and they are still exclaimed
against by foreigners, who, having but a very superficial knowledge of
these affairs, conclude that either the English are all become
Hanoverians, or, if there are still some that have an English heart,
they must be strangely degenerated, since they did not lay hold of this
opportunity of shaking off the German yoke. Though I am convinced the
Prince had a great many well-wishers in England, and though it is my
opinion he would have succeeded had they all declared for him,
nevertheless I cannot join in the cry against them, no more than I can
condemn abundance of his friends in Scotland who did not join him. I
have told elsewhere upon what a slender foundation this expedition was
undertaken. Murray had imposed upon the Prince, and hurried him into it,
without concerting anything with England. The English had always
insisted upon a body of regular troops, not under seven and not above
twelve thousand effective men. They saw the Prince in England with a
handful of militia, which they could never think a match for thirty
thousand regular troops. It is true the English have, in former times,
taken arms upon less encouragement and less provocation than they had
met with of late; but in those days the common people were accustomed to
arms, and the insurgents were as good soldiers as any that could be
brought against them."
Such is the reasoning of
an eye-witness. One thing is certain, contemporary writers appear to
have generally acquiesced in the propriety of the retreat; and that
circumstance constitutes the strongest evidence in favour of the step.
Yet, viewing events at this distance of time, and taking into account
the panic which seized, not only the public mind, hut which affected the
heads of the Government on hearing of the hold and rapid march of the
insurgents, our faith in the wisdom of a retreat is weakened. In the
night when it was announced in the fashionable circles of St. James's
that the Prince had reached Derby, a general consternation was diffused
throughout society. A lady of the highest rank, who was in one of the
assemblies of the day, related to one of her descendants that upon the
intelligence reaching the party where she was, the rooms were instantly
cleared, and on the following morning there was not a carriage to be
seen in London.
Nor were, these
apprehensions confined to any particular sphere.* The arrival of the
troops at Derby was known in London on the ninth of December, henceforth
called by the English "Black Monday." Many of the inhabitants lied in
terror from the metropolis, taking their treasures with them; the shops
were closed: people thronged to the bank to obtain payment of its notes,
and it only escaped bankruptcy by the following stratagem. Those who
came first being entitled to priority of payment, the managers of the
bank took care to be surrounded by agents with notes, to whom their
pretended claims were paid n sixpences to gain time. These agents went
out by one door and came back by another, so that the bona fide holders
of notes could never get near enough to present them; and the bank stood
out by these means until the panic had died away. King George even
embarked all his most precious effects on his yachts, which were
stationed in the Tower-quay, in readiness to convey him away, should the
dreaded Highlanders, as it now began to be generally expected, march to
London in a few days. The "moneyed corporations," according to Smollett,
were all in the deepest dejection; they reflected that the Highlanders,
of whom they had conceived a most terrible idea, were within four days'
march of the capital; they anticipated a revolution ruinous to their own
prosperity, and were overwhelmed with dismay.
"I was assured," writes
the Chevalier Johnstone, (who differed from his General, Lord George,)
"on good authority, when I was in London, some time after our
unfortunate defeat, that the Duke of Newcastle, then Secretary of State
for the War Department, remained inaccessible in his own house the whole
of the fifth of December, weighing in his mind the part which it would
be most prudent for him to take, and even uncertain whether he should
not instantly declare himself for the Pretender. It was even said at
London, that fifty thousand men had actually left that city to meet the
Prince and join his army, and every body in the capital was of opinion,
that, if we had beaten the Duke of Cumberland, the army of Finchley
Common would have dispersed of its own accord, and that by advancing
rapidly to London, we might, have taken possession of that city without
the least resistance from the inhabitants, and without exchanging a
single shot with the soldiers. Thus a revolution would have been
effected in England, so glorious for the few Scotchmen by whom it was
attempted, and altogether so surprising, that the world would not have
comprehended it. It is true, the English were altogether ignorant of the
number of our army, from the care we took in our marches to conceal it;
and it was almost impossible for their spies ever to discover it, as we
generally arrived in the towns at nightfall, and left them before the
break of day. In all the English newspapers our numbers were uniformly
stated as high as twelve or fifteen thousand men. Under such
circumstances, some temporary advantages might have been gained by
marching southwards; for it is now believed that the Jacobite party in
England were much more numerous than we have generally understood; and
that thousands would have flocked to the standard of Charles Edward had
he been accompanied by a sufficient force to authorise the expectation
of his success."
The British
administration was, it is true, devoid of men of talent or principle,
and discontent and distress prevailed in the country. In the City of
London, the Jacobite party was very strong; its member was Alderman
Heathcote, who, with Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, had announced to Lord
Temple his determination to rise immediately upon a landing of troops
from France.® The prevalence of Jacobite principles among the English
gentry is supposed to have infected many officers in the royal army, who
might have avowed them at any crisis in the public affairs: many were,
at all events, suspected of Jacobite principles; "and the mere
suspicion," remarks Lord Mahon, ''would have produced nearly the same
effects as the reality,—bewilderment, distrust, and vacillation in the
chiefs." "Had, then, the Highlanders combined to push forward," observes
this able writer, "must not the increasing terror have palsied all power
of resistance? Would not the little army at Finchley, with so convenient
a place for dispersing as the capital behind it, have melted away at
their approach?"
In confirmation of this
surmise may be quoted an anecdote which is related of a company of the
celebrated Black Watch, which had been exempted during the insurrection
of 1745 from serving against their countrymen; more than three hundred
of the regiment having brothers and relations engaged in the Jacobite
arm}-.* But it was afterwards employed on a service which might well
have been assigned to others;—to execute the decrees of burning, and to
lay waste the districts where the forefathers of these brave men had
lived. On marching one company of this famous regiment out of London,
the Highlanders, on arriving at Hounslow, suddenly became immovable;
they halted, and refused to proceed, or to bear arms against their
countrymen Their commanders, in dismay, turned to the chaplain of the
regiment, to use his influence. The clergyman then in office happened to
be Ferguson, the celebrated astronomer. lie mounted on a temporary
rostrum or pulpit, harangued the Highlanders, and, after an emphatic
address, prevailed on them to march forward.
Such were some of the
difficulties which the English Government encountered. To this may be
added, the defenceless state of the coasts of Kent and Essex. The French
ministers were now in "the very crisis of decision as to their projected
expedition." The preparations at Dunkirk were completed; and had Charles
Edward, by advancing, shown that such aid was only a secondary matter in
his favour, their fleet would have set sail. Besides, the Jacobites in
England were by no means in so apathetic and subdued a condition as that
which has been generally represented.
"I believe then."
emphatically remarks Lord Mahon, "that had Charles marched onward from
Derby he might have gained the British throne; but I am far from
thinking that he would long have held it."
"Whether he (Charles
Edward)," says Sir Walter Scott, "ought ever to have entered England, at
least without collecting all the forces which he could command, is a
very disputable point; but t was clear, that whatever influence he might
for a time possess, arose from the boldness of his advance. The charm,
however, was broken the moment he showed, by a movement in retreat, that
he had undertaken an enterprise too difficult for him to achieve."
In the opinion of the
Chevalier Johnstone, whose judgment was formed under the influence of
Lord George Murray, much of the failure of the expedition was owing to
the inactivity of Lord John Drummond, who ought, according to his
statement, to have advanced by forced marches to the assistance of
l'rince Charles. Nor was this the only error of that zealous, but
inexperienced general : through his representations, the false
intelligence that an army of ten thousand men was awaiting him m
Scotland, was conveyed to the France; the disembarkation of this force
was continually and confidently expected. "The first thing we did in the
morning," says Chevalier Johnstone, "was to see whether the wind was
favourable;" and this delusive expectation had a very great influence in
deciding the resolution taken at Derby to re treat to Scotland.
Whatever were the reasons
which actuated the council of war, the result was, in the first
instance, both painful to those who promoted the decision of the
question, and highly obnoxious to the army. Arrangements were, however,
made to keep the proposed retreat as secret as possible, both in order
to battle the Duke of Cumberland and not to irritate the Highlanders.
Yet the design was soon penetrated by those who were intent upon every
movement of their superiors. Lord George Murray, in his journal,
describes the sensation which the projected retreat occasioned, in the
following terms. "Our resolution was to be kept secret, as it was of
great consequence the enemy should have the intelligence of our march as
late as possible. Yet, in the afternoon, one Sir John Macdonald, an
Irish officer in the French service who had come over with the Prince,
came where Lochiel, and Keppoch and I were talking together, and railed
a great deal about our retreat. ' What!' says he to Keppoch, 'a
Macdonald turn his hack?' and to Lochiel, 'For shame; a Cameron run away
from the enemy! Go forward, and I'll lead you.' This gentleman was old,
and had dined heartily, for he was much subject-to his bottle: we
endeavoured to persuade him that he was mistaken, but he still insisted,
and said he had certain information of it. To tell the truth, I believe
he liked his quarters and entertainment better in England than in
Scotland, and would rather have been taken than return: for lie thought,
as he was in the French service, he did not run the same risk as others
did. Some people, seeing the Prince so much cast down about -the
retreat, to ingratiate themselves, blamed the resolution; and though
they had in the morning, as much as any body, given their hearty
concurrence in the measure, and had exprest themselves so; yet, as they
saw the retreat would certainly be put in execution, though they
appeared against it, they thought proper to say that their reason for
agreeing to it was because they knew the army would never fight well
when the officers were against it. Sir Thomas Sheridan and his Royal
Highness's secretary acted this part. And the Duke of Atholl, who had
not been present in the morning, when the Prince sent for him in the
afternoon, and spoke to him, seemed much for going forwards. In the
evening, when this was understood by the rest of the officers, they told
his Royal Highness that they valued their lives as little as brave men
ought to do; and if he inclined to go forward they would do their duty
to the last, but desired that those that advised his Royal Highness to
go forward would sign their opinion, which would be a satisfaction to
them. This put a stop to all underhand dealings, and the Duke of Atholl
when he heard others upon the same subject, was fully satisfied as to
the necessity of the measure."
The town of Derby
presented, during its occupation by the Jacobites, a singular scene. The
Highlanders, hitherto maintaining a character for good order, now broke
loose upon the townsmen of a city, which they, perhaps, began to
consider as their own. They took the opportunity of replenishing
themselves with gloves, buckles, powder-flasks, handkerchiefs, &c.,
which they demanded from, the tradespeople, whose shops they entered.
Being refreshed with a good night's rest, they ran about from house to
house, until the town looked as if it-were the resort of some Highland
fair. "If they liked a person's shoes better than their own," relates a
contemporary writer, "nothing was more common for them than to demand
them off their feet, and not to give them anything, or what they asked
for them." This insolence grew upon the forbearance of the townsmen, who
dared not to resist martial law. Even the medical profession did not
escape an unwilling participation in the concerns of the Jacobites. Dr.
Hope, a physician residing in the town, and a member of the
highly-respectable family there, was summoned to attend one of the
sojourners in
Exeter-house. The
tradition which has preserved this anecdote among the descendants of Dr.
Hope, has not specified the name of the invalid. The physician was told
that he must go instantly: he was blindfolded, and led by armed men into
the presence of his patient, without knowing whither he was conducted ;
a precaution, it may be presumed, adopted to prevent a refusal.
The church of All Saints
witnessed what its Protestant ministers must have viewed with
indignation and sorrow. Prayers were ordered to be said at six o'clock
in the evening, when a Roman Catholic clergyman entered the sacred
edifice, and performed the service according to the ritual of his
church.
In addition to these
impolitic acts of a short-lived power, proclamations were made by the
Town Crier, levying the excise duties; and a demand of one hundred
pounds was made upon the post-office. In other quarters, even these
forms were omitted, and plunder and outrage, which, says the author of
the Derby Mercury, "were they to be stated would fill our paper," were
mercilessly committed. Nevertheless, such was the tendency of the town
of Derby to Jacobite principles, that, among the higher orders, the
brief appearance of the young and unfortunate adventurer was long
remembered with interest, and his fate recalled with regret. The ladies
of Derby vied with each other in making white cockades, of delicate and
costly workmanship, to present to the hero of the day. To some of these
admiring votaries he presented his picture, a dangerous gift in
after-times, when a strict system of scrutiny prevailed; and when even
to he suspected of Jacobite principles was an effectual barrier to all
promotion in offices, and a severe injury to those In trade. One of
these Jacobite ladies* is known by her family to have kept the portrait
of the Prince behind the door of her bedchamber, carefully veiled from
any but friendly inspection.
Early on the morning of
Friday, the sixth of December, the drums beat to arms, and the bagpipes
were heard playing in different parts of the town: the forces, it was
expected by the townsmen, were thus summoned to continue their march to
Loughborough, a town full of Jacobites, who were known to have been
pledging the young adventurer's health on their bare and bended knees.
The retreat was begun in such haste, and attended with such confusion,
that many of the Highlanders left their arms behind them, where they
were quartered.
At nine o'clock, Prince
Charles, in deep dejection, was seen mounted on a black horse, which had
belonged to the brave Colonel Gardiner;—to quit Exeter-house, and,
crossing the market-place, to proceed to Broken-row; he then turned
through Sadler Gate, towards Ashbourn; he was followed by the main body
of hit, army. Before eleven o'clock, Derby, so lately resembling, in its
busy streets, the animated scene of a Highland fair, was totally cleared
of all the Highland troops. But the consternation of the inhabitants
paralyzed them. On that day no market was held, as usual; nor did the
hells toll to church on the next Sunday; nor was divine service
performed in any of the numerous and fine churches which grace the town.
The retreat, thus begun
under such inauspicious circumstances, was left solely to the guidance
of the General who had so earnestly recommended it; and Lord George
Murray took the sole management of it. In the dawn of the morning, when
some of the troops had begun their march, the Highlanders did not
perceive in which direction they were marching; they believed that they
were going to give the Duke of Cumberland battle. When they discovered
that they were in retreat, a murmur of lamentation ran through the
ranks. " The inferior officers," Lord Elcho relates,+ u were much
surprised when they found the army moving back, and imagined some bad
news had been received; but, when they were told everything, and found
the army had marched so far into England without the least invitation
from any Englishman of distinction, they blamed their superiors much for
carrying them so far, and approved much of going back to Scotland. They
had all along imagined they were inarching to join the English, and were
acting in concert with them. To the common men it was given out the army
was going to meet their friends from Scotland, and to prevent Marshal
Wade from getting in between them, whose army was at Wetherby and
Doncaster."
The influence, however,
of these contradictory reports upon the common men was soon conspicuous.
The march was at first regular enough; hut the whole hearing of the
Highlanders was changed. Dispirited and indignant, they became reckless
in their conduct: they lingered on the way, and committed outrages of
which but few instances had been heard during their march southwards.
Lord George Murray found it difficult to keep his army together. "In the
advance," observes Sir Walter Scott, "they showed the sentiments of
brave men, come, in their opinion, to liberate their fellow-citizens; in
the retreat, they were caterans, returning from a creagh." The cause
which they had adopted, had lost, from this moment, all hope, though the
mournful interest attached to it still remained, perhaps, with
increasing force.
In order to conceal the
retreat as long from the enemy as possible, a party of horse was ordered
to advance some miles n the direction of Lichfield, where the Duke of
Cumberland was posted; and, to keep up the delusion, powder was
distributed among the army. It was also insinuated that "Wade was at
hand, and that they were going to fight him; but when the soldiers found
themselves on the road to Ashbourn they suspected the truth, and became
still more sullen and dejected. Another artifice adopted to raise their
spirits was a report, circulated purposely among them, that the
reinforcements expected from Scotland were on their road, and that
having met these, near Preston the army would resume its march
southwards. This project, however distasteful to Lord George Murray,
was, it seems, seriously entertained by the Prince.
And now commenced the
difficulties of that undertaking in which Lord George had pledged
himself to conduct an army of little more than six thousand men, in the
depth of winter, in safety to Scotland, although in the neighbourhood of
two great armies. The management of this retreat has been a subject of
admiration to all competent judges of military affairs; it has conferred
lasting honour on the capacity of Lord George Murray as a General.
It was of the greatest
importance, under his circumstances, that Lord George should know of the
movements and intentions of the enemy; and such was his system, such his
address, in employing spies and emissaries, that he was always informed
of what took place in the armies of the Duke and General Wade. One of
his principal agents was Hewett, a butcher in Derby; who, from his local
knowledge, could tell many particulars of the country-gentlemen, as well
as of the movements of the Duke and his formidable forces.*
The Highland army arrived
on the night of the sixth at Ashbourn, on the following day they reached
Leek, on the ninth they arrived at Manchester, where a great revulsion
of feeling had taken place. The "Hanoverian mob," to use the expression
of Mr. Maxwell, were determined to dispute the Prince's entrance; but
when his vanguard appeared, these noisy heroes were instantly silenced.f
From Manchester the Prince proceeded to Wigan, and thence to Preston,
where he halted on the twelfth. Here the disappointed young man recurred
to his cherished project, that of having reinforcements sent from
Scotland, under Viscount Strathallan, who had been left in command at
Perth, and those also under Lord John Drummond. Upon his arrival at
Preston, he sent the Duke of Perth into Scotland to bring them with the
utmost expedition. He was resolved to retire no further until he met
them, and then to march directly for London, casting his whole chance of
success upon the event of that step.
Among the generals and
chiefs of this army a different sentiment had now arisen. A safe retreat
was their object, and the subject of universal attention. Hitherto there
had been little or no danger; it was impossible for the enemy to
overtake the army before it had reached Preston; but between Preston and
Carlisle it was practicable for the enemy's cavalry to come uj> with the
Prince's army during that march. There was even a greater danger to be
apprehended than the pursuit of the Duke. Marshal Wade had left his
position at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, having been ordered by the Duke to
place himself between the insurgent forces and Scotland, in order to cut
off the retreat. There were in those days but few roads, or even passes
in the mountainous regions of Cumberland and Westmoreland, by which a
regular army could march. There was, however, an excellent road from
Newcastle to Penrith, a town through which Wade might march his army,
and where he could arrive a day or two before the Prince, and intercept
his retreat.
On the fifteenth the
Prince arrived at Kendal, and here Lord George Murray, taking a body of
life-guards, went in person to reconnoitre the position of the enemy. He
brought back several prisoners, who gave him all the information of
which he was desirous. From what was thus gathered, Lord George
perceived that the whole cavalry of "Wade's army might possibly overtake
the Highland forces before they could reach Carlisle; he therefore
represented to the Prince the propriety of sacrificing the cannon and
heavy baggage to the safety of the men; since the mountainous journey
from Kendal to Penrith rendered the transit of such carriages very
difficult. But the Prince was determined that his retreat should have
the air of retiring, not of flying; he was resolved not to leave a
single piece of his cannon ; he would rather fight both armies than give
such a proof of weakness. He issued peremptory orders that the march
should be continued as before, and that not a single carriage should be
left at Kendal.
The dissensions between
Charles Edward and Lord George Murray had now ripened into reproaches
011 the one hand, answered by something not unlike taunts on the other.
The former had cherished a predilection for battles ever since his
victory at Glandsmuir, and he often broke out into expressions of anger
towards his General, for his having prevented his fighting the Duke of
Cumberland at Derby. As they quitted Kendal, Lord George observed to
Charles, " Since your Eoya.1 Highness is always for battles, be the
circumstances what they may; I now offer you one, in three hours from
this time, with the army of Marshal Wade, who is only three miles
distant from this place." The Prince made no reply, but mounted into his
carriage. All his ardour a marching at the head of the Clans was gone;
he had become listless, careless, and dejected since the retreat. The
army were dispirited by his gloomy and mournful aspect; and a still
greater degree of difficulty and responsibility devolved therefore upon
their General. On the sixteenth of December the army slept at Shap, and
on the seventeenth the Prince arrived at Penrith; but the artillery, and
the regiment of the Macdonalds of Glengarry, could only reach Shap by
nightfall.
On the following morning
Lord George proceeded towards Penrith. Scarcely had he begun his inarch
when he saw a number of the enemy's light horse hovering about, but not
venturing within musket-shot. About midday, as the Highland army began
to ascend an eminence about half-way between Shap and Penrith, they
discovered cavalry riding two and two abreast on the top of the hill.
These instantly disappeared, but the noise of the, kettle-drums and
trumpets announced that they were only on the other side of the hill,
and that they were probably forming in order of battle. Lord George was
in the rear of the Highland army.
The advanced guard
stopped at the foot of the hill, when suddenly they formed a resolution
to advance sword n hand on the enemy, without informing Lord George of
their resolution. On arriving at the summit of the hill, the party whose
kettle-drums and trumpets had caused such an alarm, were found to be
only three hundred light horse and chasseurs, who instantly fled. One
prisoner only was made, a man who fell from his horse. It was desirable,
on all accounts, to have preserved the life of this person, but the fury
of the Highlanders was such that he was instantly cut to pieces.
After this alarm, this
detachment of the Highland army resumed their march: the appearance of
the light horse had, however, begotten an impression that Wade's forces
were not far distant. The Chevalier Johnstone, more especially, had
strong misgivings on the subject; his fears were confirmed by his
serjeant Dickson, who called his attention to something black on a hill
about three i ides distant. This appearance, which every one else
regarded as bushes, was soon found to be the English army, slowly but
surely advancing. Before the vanguard could recover the surprise, the
Duke of Cumberland, who had pursued them with forced marches, fell upon
the Macdonalds, who were in the rear, with fury. Fortunately the road
running between thorn hedges and ditches, the English cavalry could not
act ir. such a manner as to surround the army, nor present a larger
front than the breadth of the road.
The Highlanders instantly
ran to the enclosures in which the English were, fell on their knees,
and began to cut down the hedges with their dirks. This precaution was
necessary, for their limbs were unprotected by anything lower than their
kilts. During this operation, they sustained the fire of the English
with admirable firmness. As soon as the hedges were cut down, they
jumped into the enclosures sword in hand, and broke the English
battalions. A fierce and deadly contest ensued. The English were nearly
cut to pieces without quitting their ground Platoons might, indeed, be
seen, composed of forty or fifty men falling beneath the Highlanders,
yet they remained firm, closing up their ranks, as fast as an opening
was made by the broad-swords of the Highlanders. This remarkable attack
was made in person by Lord George Murray, at the head of the Macphersons,
whom he ordered to charge. At length the English dragoons were driven
from their posts, and closely pursued until they arrived at the moor
where their main body was planted. In this "scuffle" the Macphersons
lost only twelve men; about one hundred of the English were killed or
wounded. A footman in the service of the Duke of Cumberland was the only
prisoner made by the Highlanders. This man declared that his royal
master would have been killed, if the pistol, with which a Highlander
took aim at his head, had not missed fire. Prince Charles, with much
courtesy, sent him back instantly to the Duke."
Such is a brief account
of the engagement which Lord George Murray calls a "little skirmish,"
but which must have afforded, at all events, some notion of Highland
valour to the Duke of Cumberland and his dragoons. But, independent of
the dauntless bravery of the Macphersons, to the skill of Lord George
Murray may be attributed much of the success of the action. Before the
firing began, he contrived, by roiling up his colours, and causing them
to be carried half open to different places, to deceive the enemy with
regard to the numbers of the Highland force; and to make them conclude
that the whole of the army was posted in the village of Clifton. With
about a thousand men in all, he contrived to defeat five hundred
dragoons, backed by a great body of cavalry, all well disciplined
troops. The moon, which was In its second quarter, appeared at intervals
during the close of the action, and gave but a fitful light, being often
overclouded, so that the combatants fought almost in gloom, except for a
few minutes at a time. The English, being all on horseback, were just
visible to their foes, but the "little Highlanders " were in darkness.
"We had the advantage," observes Lord George, "of seeing their
disposition, but they could not see ours.' This encounter had the effect
of saving the Prince and the whole army. "It was lucky," calmly remarks
Lord George Murray, "that I made that stand at Clifton, for otherwise
the enemy would have been at our heels, and come straight to Penrith,
where, after refreshing two or three hours, they might have come up with
us before we got to Carlisle."
Lord George was in
imminent danger during the action at Clifton. Fortunately, an old man,
Glen-bucket, who was very infirm, remained at the end of the village on
horseback. He entreated Lord George to be very careful, *' for if any
accident happened, he would be blamed." "He gave me," relates Lord
George, "his targe; it was convex, and covered with a plate of metal,
which was painted; the paint was cleared in two or three places, with
the enemy's bullets; and, indeed, they were so thick about me, that I
felt them hot about my head, and I thought some of them went through my
hair, which was about two inches long, my bonnet having fallen off.''
In this skirmish Lord
George commanded the Glengarry regiment, who had remained, at the
General's request, in the rear, to guard the baggage. The officers,
observes Lord George, "behaved to my wish, and punctually obeyed the
orders they received. That very morning, however, the Glengarry regiment
had told Lord George that they would not have stayed three days behind
the rest of the army to guard the baggage for any man but himself." The
Stewarts, of Appin, were also among the most valiant of the combatants ;
but the most signal instances of courage were shown by Macpherson of
Clunie, and his fierce band.
This unfortunate chief
was engaged in the insurrection of 1715; that circumstance had been
overlooked by Government; and, in the very year 1745, he had been
appointed to a company in Lord Loudon's regiment. and had taken the
oaths to Government. His clan were, however, anxious To espouse the
cause of Charles Edward. Whilst Clunie wavered, his honour requiring the
fulfilment of his oaths, his affections, and his hereditary principles
leading him to follow Charles, his wife, although a stanch Jacobite, and
a daughter of Lord Lovat, entreated him. not to break his oaths, and
represented that nothing would end well which began with perjury. She
was overruled by the friends of Clunie, and he hastened to his Prince.
The victorious General
remained at Clifton half an hour after all the other officers had
proceeded to Penrith. This circumstance disproved a statement given in
the English newspapers, which intimated that the Highlanders had been
beaten from their post at Clifton. On the contrary, "I heard," observed
Lord George, "that the enemy went a good many miles for quarters, and I
am persuaded they were as weary of that day's fatigue as we could be."
Upon arriving at Penrith,
Lord George found the Prince much pleased with what had occurred. He
was, however, just taking horse for Carlisle. On the next day, after
staying a very short time at Penrith to refresh, Lord George joined
Charles Edward in that city, which had yielded so short a time
previously to his arms ; and here various circumstances occurred which
sufficiently show the discord which prevailed in the councils of the
young Chevalier.
During the march, the
young Prince had manifested a lofty sense of his own honour; but it was
combined with a great degree of obstinacy in some respects, almost
accompanied by puerility. Disgusted with the retreat, indignant with the
promoter of that step, bent upon returning to England, unhappy,
discouraged, and distracted by evil counsels, the Prince had plainly
shown, that he would controvert the opinions of Lord George in every
possible instance. He had lingered so late in the morning before leaving
his quarters, as to detain the rear, which that General commanded, long
after the van. This was a great inconvenience, and difficult for an
impetuous temper to tolerate. The Prince not only refused to allow the
army to be eased of any of the ammunition, being resolved " rather to
fight both their armies than to give such a proof of his weakness;''*
but lie carried that order to an extreme, behaving as a petulant young
man, who exerts power more in anger than from reflection. The march thus
encumbered had been made with a degree of difficulty and fatigue which
tried the patience of the soldiers, who were obliged, iii one instance,
to drag, like horses, the heavy waggons, in order to get them through a
stream of water where there was a narrow pass, and a steep ascent.
No enemy had molested the
troops after they left Penrith; and it appeared evident that, at that
time, the Duke of Cumberland had no intention of coming to a pitched
battle, but intended only to take advantage of the disorder which he
might suppose would have attended the retreat of an army of militia.
On arriving at Carlisle,
a council of war was held. Lord George Murray was in favour of
evacuatiug Carlisle, but his influence was overruled. "I had been so
much fatigued," he remarks, "for some days before, that I was very
little at the Prince's quarters that day." It was, however, determined
to leave a garrison in Carlisle, for Prince Charles had set his heart
upon returning to England. He, therefore, placed in the castle Mr.
Hamilton, whilst the unfortunate Mr. Townley commanded the town.
"This," remarks Mr
Maxwell, "was perhaps the worst resolution that the Prince had taken
hitherto. I cannot help condemning it, though there were specious
pretexts for it." It would, indeed, have been highly advantageous for
the Prince to have retained one (if the keys of England; and he might
have hoped to return before the place could be retaken. Of this,
however, he could not be certain; and he was undoubtedly wrong in
exposing the lives of the garrison without an indispensable necessity,
which, according to Maxwell, did not exist; for "blowing up the castle,
and the gates of the town might equally have given him an entry into
England."
The day after the Prince
had arrived in Carlisle, he left it, and proceeded northwards. One cause
of this, apparently, needless haste was, the state of the river Esk,
about seven miles from Carlisle; it was, by a nearer road, impassable.
This stream, it was argued, might be swollen by a few hours rain, and
then it could not be forded. The Prince might thus be detained at
Carlisle; and he had now become extremely impatient to know the exact
state of his affairs in Scotland; to collect his forces, in order to
return to England. Letters from Lord John Drummond had re-assured him of
the good will of the Court of France—that delusive hope was not even
then extinct. Advice from Viscount Strathallan had imparted excellent
accounts of the army in Scotland. Under these circumstances, Charles
hastened forward, and encountered the difficult passage over the Esk.
Hope again gladdened the heart of one for whose errors, when we consider
the stake fur which he fought, and the cherished wishes of his youth,
too little allowance has been made. But, m the eyes of others, the
prospect of the young Chevalier's return to England was regarded as
wholly visionary; and the planting a garrison in the dilapidated
fortress of Carlisle, was deemed indifference to the fate of his
adherents who remained, unwillingly, and certain of their doom. "The
retreat from Derby was considered throughout England," observes Sir
Walter Scott, "as the close of the rebellion: as a physician regards a
distemper to be nearly overcome, when he can drive it from the stomach
and nobler parts, into the extremities of the body."
The army, after marching
from three o'clock in the morning until two in the afternoon, arrived on
the borders of the Esk. This river, which is usually shallow, had
already been swollen by an incessant rain of several days, to the depth
of four feet. It was, therefore, necessary to cross it instantly, for
fear of a continuation of the rain, and an increase of the danger. The
passage over the Esk was admirably contrived; it could only have been
effected by Highlanders. The cavalry formed in the river, to break the
force of the current, about twenty-five paces above the ford where the
infantry were to pass. Then the Highlanders plunged into the water,
arranging themselves into ranks of ten or twelve a-breast, with their
arms locked in such a manner as to support one another against the
rapidity of the river, leaving sufficient intervals between their ranks
for the passage of the water. "We were, nearly a hundred men a-breast,"
writes Lord George Murray; "and it was a very fine show. The water was
big, and most of the men breast-high. "When 1 was near across the river,
I believe there were two thousand men in the water at once: there was
nothing seen but their heads and shoulders; but there was no danger, for
we had crossed many waters, and the ford was good; and Highlanders will
pass a water where horses will not, which I have often seen. They hold
by one another, by the neck of the coat, so that if one should fall, he
is in no danger, being supported by the others, so all went down, or
none."
The scene must have been
extremely singular. ''The interval between the cavalry," remarks an
eyewitness, "appeared like a paved street through the river, the heads
of the Highlanders being generally all that was seen above the water.
Cavalry were also placed beneath the ford, to pick up all those who
might be carried away by the current. In an hour's time the whole army
had passed the river Esk; and the boundary between England and Scotland
was again passed, "
Lord George Murray had,
on this occasion, assumed the national dress. "I was this day," he says
"in my philibeg." Well might he, in after times, when reviewing the
events of the memorable campaign of 1745, dwell with pride on the
hardihood of those countrymen from whom he was for ever an exile when he
composed his journal. "All the bridges that were thrown down in
England," he remarks, "to prevent their advancing in their march
forwards, never retarded them a moment." Nor was the philibeg assumed
merely for the convenience of the passage over the Esk. "I did not
know," writes Lord George, "but the enemy might have come from Penrith
by Brampton, so shunned the water of Eden, to have attacked us in
passing this water of Esk; and nothing encouraged the men more, than
seeing their officers dressed like themselves, and ready to share their
fate."
Some ladies had forded
the river on horseback immediately before the Highland regiments. These
fair, and bold equestrians might have given intelligence; but luckily
they did not. The General who had provided so carefully and admirably
for the safety of his troops, knew well how to temper discipline with
indulgence. Fires were instantly kindled to dry the men as they quitted
the water. The poor Highlanders, when they found themselves on Scottish
ground, forgot all the vexation of then' retreat, and broke out into
expressions of joy;—of short lived continuance among a slaughtered and
hunted people. It was near night; yet the bagpipes struck up a national
air as the last of the Highland host passed the river: and the
Highlanders began dancing reels, "which," relates Lord George, "in a
moment dried them, for they had held up the tails of their short coats
in passing the river; so when their legs were dry, all was right." This
day, forming an epoch in the sorrowful narrative of the insurrection of
1745, was the birthday of Prince Charles, who then attained his
twenty-fifth year. Many mercies had marked the expedition into England,
fruitless as it had proved.
After six weeks' inarch,
and sojourn, in England, amid innumerable enemies, threatened by two
formidable armies in different directions, the Jacobite forces, entering
England on the eighth of November, and quitting it on the twentieth of
December, had returned without losing more than forty men, including the
twelve killed at Clifton Wall. They had traversed a country well-peopled
with English peasantry, without any attacks except upon such marauders
as strayed from their main body.
As soon as the army had
passed the river, the Prince formed it into two columns, which
separated; the one, conducted by Charles Edward, took the road to
Ecclefechan; the other, under the command of Lord George Murray, marched
to Annan. In the disposition of these routes, the principal object was
to keep the English in a state of uncertainty as to the direction in
which the Jacobite army intended to go, and the towns which they
purposed to occupy: and the end was answered; for no just notion was
given of the movements of the Highlanders until after the subsequent
junction of the two columns; and time was thus gained.
There being no town
within eight or ten miles from the river Esk, the army were obliged to
march nearly all night. The column conducted by the Prince had to cross
mossy ground, under a pouring rain, which had continued ever since the
skirmish at Clifton Wall. The guides who conducted Lord George's
division led them off the road; this was, however, a necessary
precaution in order to shun houses, the lights from which might have
tempted the drenched and hungry soldiers to stray, and take shelter.
Then the hardy and energetic general of his matchless forces first felt
the effects of this laborious march in unusual debility, and fever.
At Moffat, this column
halted; and divine service was performed in different parts of the town,
all the men attending. "Our people,'' remarks Lord George, "were very
regular that way; and I remember, at Derby, the day we halted, as a
battle was soon expected, many of our officers and people took the
sacrament."
On the twenty-fifth of
December, Lord George arrived at Glasgow, having passed through the
towns of Hamilton and Douglas, and here, on the following day, Charles
Edward also arrived, with the other column Lord Elcho, who had conducted
the cavalry through Dumfries, preceded the two great divisions. It was
resolved to give the army some days' rest after the excessive fatigue
which the men had uncomplainingly sustained. The spirits of Charles
Edward were now recruited, and his example contributed not a little to
the alacrity and energy of his force. Small, indeed, did it appear, when
he reviewed it on Glasgow-green, and found how little he had suffered
during his expedition into England. Hitherto Charles had carefuly
concealed his weakness; but now, hoping in a few days to double his
army, he was not unwilling to show with what a handful of men he had
penetrated into England, and conducted an enterprise, bold in its
conception, and admirable in its performance.
At Glasgow, the
melancholy fate of the brave garrison in Carlisle became known to the
Jacobite army. Two days after the Prince had left, the Duke of
Cumberland invested it, and began to batter that part of the wall which
is towards the Irish gate. The governor of the Castle, Mr. Hamilton,
determined to capitulate even before a breach had been made in the
walls; and his proposal was vainly resisted by the brave Francis Townley
and others, who were resolved to defend themselves to the last
extremity. u They were in the right." They might have held out for
several days, and perhaps obtained better terms; but the governor
persisted in surrendering to the clemency of King George, promised by
his inhuman and dishonourable son. Assurances of intercession were given
by the Duke of Cumberland, and the garrison of three hundred men
surrendered. On the Duke's return to London, it was decided by the
British government that he was not bound to observe a capitulation with
rebels. The brave, and confiding prisoners perished, twelve of the
officers by the common hangman, at Kennington; others, at Carlisle—many
died in prison. Their fate reflected strongly upon the conduct of
Charles Edward; but the general character of that young Prince, his
hatred of blood, his love of his adherents, prove that it was not
indifference to their safety which actuated him in the sacrifice of the
garrison of Carlisle. lie was possessed with an infatuation, believing
that he should one day, and that day not distant, reenter England; he
was surrounded by favourites, who all encouraged his predilections, and
fostered the here* Maxwell.
ditary self-will of his
ill-starred race. The Mood of Townley, and of his brave
fellow-sufferers, rests not as a stain on the memory of Lord George
Murray; and the Prince alone must bear the odium of that needless
sacrifice to a visionary future. "We must draw a veil," says the
Chevalier Johnstone, "over this piece of cruelty, being altogether
unable either to discover the motive for leaving this three hundred men
at Carlisle, or to find an excuse for it."
On arriving at Glasgow,
the Prince sent a gentleman to Perth to procure a particular account of
the state of affairs in that part of the country; and on finding that
his forces were so widely scattered that a considerable time must elapse
before they could reassemble, he gave up the hope of returning to
England, and determined upon the sieges of Edinburgh and Stirling. On
the fourth of January he marched from Glasgow to Bannockburn, where he
took up his quarters; and Lord George Murray, with the clans, occupied
Falkirk. Before the twelfth of the same month, General Hawley, who had
now formed a considerable army in Edinburgh, resolved upon raising the
siege of Stirling, before which the trenches were opened.
Lord George Murray was,
however, resolved to make a strong effort to prevent this scheme of
General Hawley's from taking effect. Hearing that there was a provision
made of bread and forage at Linlithgow for General Hawley's troops, he
resolved to surprise the town and to carry off the provisions. He set
out at four o'clock in the morning; was joined by Lord Elcho and Lord
Pitsligo, with their several bodies of horse, and before sunrise
Linlithgow was invested. The Jacobites were disturbed, however, in their
quarters by a party of General Hawley's dragoons; and a report which
prevailed that another body of horse and foot were also approaching,
induced Lord George to return to Falkirk. On the following day he
returned to Stirling; and the clans were quartered in the adjacent
villages. The reinforcements which had been so long expected from the
north were now near at hand; so that they could scarcely fail to arrive
before an engagement began. The clans were augmented in number, and what
was almost of equal importance, they had regained confidence and health
on returning to their native land. All were in high spirits at the
prospect of an engagement.
The Prince employed the
fifteenth day of the month in choosing a field of battle ; on the
sixteenth he reviewed the army. The plan of the engagement was drawn out
by Lord George Hurray, according to his usual practice. The army of the
insurgents amounted to nine thousand men. On that evening he learned
that General Hawley had encamped on the plain between that town and the
river Carron : upon which a council was called, and it was resolved the
next day to attack the enemy.
The sympathies of the
modem reader can scarcely fail to be enlisted in the cause of the
Jacobites, who appear henceforth in the character of the valiant
defenders of their hills and homes, their hereditary monarchy, their
national honour and rights. Whatever an Englishman may have felt on
beholding the incursions of a Highland force in his own country, the
sentirnent is altered into one of respect and of compassion when he
views the scene of the contest changed, and sees the hopeless struggle
fought on Scottish ground.
Never were two parties
more strongly contrasted than the Hanoverians and the Jacobites. The
very expressions which each party used towards the other, as well as
their conduct in the strife, are characteristic of the coarse insolence
of possession, and the gallant contest for restoration. Nothing could
present a more revolting contrast than that between the individuals who
headed the armies of Government, and the unfortunate Prince Charles and
his brave adherents. In opposition to his generosity and forbearance
stood the remorseless vengeance of the Duke of Cumberland. In comparison
with the lofty, honest, fearless Lord George Murray, was the low
instrument of Cumberland, the detestable Hawley. One blushes to write
his name an English word. Succeeding General Wade, whose feeble powers
had become nearly extinct in the decline of age, General Hawlev was the
beloved officer, the congenial associate of the young and royal
commander-in-chief, who even at his early age could select a man without
love to man, or reverence to God, for his General. These two were
kindred spirits, worthy of an union in the task of breaking the noblest
hearts, and crushing and enslaving the finest people that ever blessed a
land of sublime beauty. Perhaps, if one may venture to make so strong an
assertion, the General was more odious than his patron. It is, indeed,
no easy point to decide towards which of these two notorious, for I will
not call them distinguished men, the disgust of all good minds must be
excited in the greater degree. In contempt for their fellow men, in
suspicion and distrust, they were alike. In the directions for Hawley's
funeral, he wrote in his wid: "The priest, I conclude, will have his fee
: let the puppy take it. I have written all this with my own hand; and
this I did because I hate priests of ail professions, and have the worst
'opinion of all members of the law."
To thin low and ignorant
con tempt for the members of two learned professions, Hawley added an
utter disregard of every tie of honour; he was wholly unconscious of the
slightest emotion of humanity ; he revelled in the terrors of power. The
citizens beheld, with disgust, gibbets erected on his arrival there, to
hang up any rebels who might fall into his hands: the very soldiers
detested the General who had executioners to attend the army. The
generous nature of Englishmen turned against the man, who, as it has
been well remarked, "deserved not the name of soldier." They gave him
the nick-name of the "Chief Justice" and hated him as a man unworthy to
cope with brave and honourable foes.
General Hawdey had all
the contempt, fashionable in those days, for Highland valour. "Give me
but two regiments of horse," he said, "and I will soon ride over the
whole Highland army." He quickly, however, learned his mistake; his
contempt was1, therefore, changed into a, fiendish abhorrence, exhibited
n the most horrible forms of unmitigated revenge.
It was decided by Charles
and his Generals, in a council held on the evening preceding the battle
of Falkirk, to attack the Hanoverian troops by break of day. The Tor
Wood, formerly an extensive forest, but much decayed, lay between the
two armies. The high road from Stirling to Falkirk, through Bannockburn,
passes through what was once the middle of the wood. About eleven in the
morning the Jacobite army was seen, marching in two columns, and
advancing to the rising ground. Scarcely had they begun their march than
the sky was overcast, and a violent storm blinded their enemy, who were,
on the other hand, marching with their bayonets fixed the fury of the
tempest was such, that they could hardly secure their pieces from the
rain.
Lord George Murray, with
his drawn sword in his hand, and his target on his arm. conducted the
Macdonalds of Keppoch This clan regiment advanced very slowly that they
might keep their ranks until they had gained possession of the ground
they wanted; they then turned their backs to the wind, and formed into
the 1 ne of battle. The field which they intended to occupy was skirted
by a deep morass as they came foot by foot, within pistol shot of the
enemy.
Meantime, General Ligomer,
with three regiments of dragoons, began to move towards the Highlanders:
whilst Lord George Murray, riding along the ranks of the Macdonalds, was
forbidding them to fire until he gave orders. The English came at last,
on full trot, almost close up to the line : then Lord George Murray gave
the word of command to fire; the dragoons were instantly repulsed and
fled back ; upon which Lord George commanded the Macdonalds to keep
within ranks, and stand firm. A total rout of the King's troops ensued;
and the field of battle presented a strange spectacle. The English
troops were, during the whole of the battle, severely incommoded by the
storm of wind and rain, which almost blinded the enemy; but, independent
of this accidental cause, their usual valour was, on this day, called
into question. They fled in every direction This famous battle did not
last more than twenty minutes from the first fire of the Macdonalds to
the retreat of the last regiment of dragoons. Before it grew dark
General Hawley gave orders that his tents should be burned } he then
retreated to Linlithgow.
Many brave English
officers fell m this ill-conducted engagement, and their defeat was
attributed at once to the arrogant confidence of Hawley, and to the
courage and discipline of the Macdonalds of Keppoch, who, under the
skilful command of Lord George Murray, are considered to have won the
day. "If the bravery of the Macdonald regiments were put out of view,"
observes Mr. Chambers, "it might be said that the storm had gained the
Jacobites the battle."
But the rain, which
lasted during the whole of the battle, prevented a full advantage of the
defeat being taken. The Highlanders, who do not use cartridges, were
unable to load again, but were forced to have recourse to their
broadswords; they were, however, out-lined by one-halt' of the enemy's
infantry, and one of the battalions wheeling about, they were thrown
into disorder by the force of a flank fire. They retreated up the hill,
and before they could be rallied, the English, who could not be
prevailed upon to stand a second attack of the Highland broadswords, had
begun an orderly retreat. Had the whole of the Jacobite army been at
hand, to rash headlong upon the enemy the moment they turned their
backs, few of their infantry would have escaped being killed or taken.
Lord George Murray,
advancing with the Atholl men, who had kept the line, in perfect order,
pursued the retreating army towards Falkirk, lie had arrived at the foot
of the hill just as the English troops entered the town, which was at
the distance of a musket-shot from the place where he stood. It was then
proposed by most of the officers to retire towards Dunnipace, in order
to shelter the men from the incessant rain; but Lord George opposed this
proposition. He had observed the disorder of the English: "Let them not
have time," he remarked, "to rally, and to line the houses, and clean
their guns, so as to defend the town of Falkirk ; there is not a moment
to be lost." He concluded with the expression of Count Mercy at the
battle of Parma,—"I will either lie in the town or in Paradise."
Prince Charles coming up
at the instant, approved of the resolution. A singular difficulty now
occurred; there were no bag-pipes to inspirit the men with a warlike
air, the pipers, as soon as a battle began, were in the practice of
giving their pipes into the keeping of boys, who had to take care of
themselves, and often disappeared with the instruments. "The pipers,
who." as Lord George remarks, "were commonly as good men as any," then
charged with the rest. This circumstance, which might appear trifling,
was in fact the cause why the Macdonalds and other Clans had not,
rallied from the first. Such was the importance of the national music at
this critical moment. In ancient days the bards shared the office of
encouragement to the Clans. It was their part to stimulate valour, and,
before the battle began they passed from tribe to tribe, giving
exhortations, and expatiating on the dishonour of retreat. They
familiarized the people with a notion of death, and took from it, in one
sense, to sting. When their voices could no longer be heard, they were
succeeded by the pipes, whose wailing and powerful strains kept alive
the enthusiasm which languished when those notes ceased to be heard.
Lochiel, Lord Ogilvy,
Colonel Roy Stewart, and several ether chiefs, followed Lord George
Murray into the town. On the ensuing day Charles and most of the army
entered it. All were disappointed not to overtake the enemy ; and Lord
George Murray has left on record proofs of his bitter disappointment at
the fruitless issue of this gallant encounter, much of which he
attributes to want of decision and arrangement. Early on the morning of
the battle, he had given the Prince a scroll of the line of battle,
which was approved; he had requested that it might be filled in with the
names of officers appointed to command. "I never." he observes, " heard
that there was any appointment made that day." When it was agreed to
march towards the enemy between twelve and one, he asked the Prince
whether, since there was no other Lieutenant-General there, he should
march at the head of the army? He was answered in the affirmative, after
which he never received any other instructions until the action was
over. The difficulties which Lord George had, therefore, to encounter,
without knowing who were to command in the different stations; with only
two aides-de-camp, both on foot, whilst hip personal enemies were near
the Prince in the time of the action, and did little to advise or
suggest, are strongly insisted upon in his narrative. "I believe," he
adds, after firmly but dispassionately stating all these unhappy
mistakes, "that my conduct was unexceptionable, and that in the
advantages we gained I had a considerable share."
The day succeeding the
victory of Falkirk was passed by the insurgents in burying the slain,
and in collecting the spoils. A deep pit was dug by the country people,
into which the English soldiers and the Highland clansmen were
precipitated into one common grave. The former were easily distinguished
by the frightful gashes of the broad-swords on their breasts and limbs.
The tomb contained a heap of human bodies; and long after the event the
spot of this rude sepulchre might be traced by a deep hollow in the
field.
Charles Edward had now
arrived at another crisis of his singular destiny. The fate of a single
day had once more rendered him victorious, but it requires a superior
and matured judgment to profit by success, "One thing is certain,"
remarks an eye-witness of this contest, and that is, "that the
vanquished will always have great resources in the negligence of the
victorious party."
The battle of Falkirk
struck terror into every English heart, and the panic of the Black
Monday again spread like a contagion throughout the country. After the
retreat from Derby, the higher ranks of society in England, who had
betrayed an unwonted degree of alarm, concluded that they had nothing
more to fear even from "a band of men so desperately brave who had done
so much with such little means." The victory at Falkirk was, therefore,
received with redoubled alarm; and at court, during a ball which was
held instantly after the event, only two persons appeared with calm and
cheerful countenances. These were the King, whose personal courage was
undoubted, and General Cope, who rejoiced that Hawley's failure might in
some measure excuse his own.
Under these
circumstances, and being assured that the panic in Edinburgh equalled
that in London, Prince Charles was strongly advised to repair to
Edinburgh, and to resume the possession of the capital, lie hesitated,
and the delay proved fatal to his interests. There was no time to be
lost;—the conduct of Hawley had inspired universal contempt not only for
his abilities, but for his cowardice. "General Hawley," wrote General
Wightman to Duncan Forbes, "is much in the same situation as General
Cope, and was never seen in the field during the battle; and everything
would have gone to wreck in a worse manner than at Preston, if General
Huske had not acted with judgment and courage, and appeared everywhere."
Lord George Murray
remained at Falkirk with the Clans until apprised, through the secretary
Murray, that the Duke of Cumberland was expected at Edinburgh on the
twenty-eighth of the month ; and that it was Charles's intention to
attack him as soon as he arrived at Falkirk, At the first news of the
project, Lord George seemed to approve of it; he drew up a plan of the
battle, which he submitted to the ardent young Chevalier, who was
delighted to think that he was to have to oppose the Duke of Cumberland
in person. But this hope was transient; for on the very same evening, a
representation, signed at Falkirk, by Lord George Murray and all the
commanders of Clans, begging him to retreat, was presented to the
disappointed and indignant Charles Edward. The great desertions which
wore daily taking place since the battle, was made the chief plea of
this unexpected address; two thousand men, it was alleged, had gone off
since that action, whilst the army of the enemy was reinforced. Some of
the battalions were said to be one-third weaker than before the
engagement at Falkirk.
The Frince received this
address with a dissatisfaction even more apparent than that which ho had
shown at Derby, when persuaded to retreat. lie dashed his head against
the wall with violence, exclaiming, " Good God ! have I lived to see
this V As the event showed, it had perhaps been wiser to have risked the
event of an action at that time, than to have awaited the mournful
catastrophe of Culloden. At length, although he never could be brought
to approve of the step, Charles gave a reluctant and sorrowful consent
to that which all his chieftains called upon him to adopt. The burden of
the censure which was afterwards cast upon this decision, was thrown
upon the Lieutenant-Geiieral. "I was told," writes Lord George, "that I
was much blamed for it. I really cannot tell who was the first that
spoke of it, but this I am .sure, every one of us were unanimously of
the same opinion." The siege of Stirling had proved, indeed, wholly
unsuccessful; that very morning the battery, although it had been long
in preparation, was silenced in a few hours after it began to play. It
was therefore determined to abandon it; and it was decided that the time
of the army would be more profitably employed in driving Lord Loudon
from Inverness, and in taking the forts in the north, than in a rash
engagement, or a hopeless siege. The spirit of the enterprise was,
indeed, gone; otherwise such a retreat could never have been proposed
and entertained. It was, however, fully determined on. The deepest
dejection prevailed among the army when it was announced.
The Prince still remained
at Bannockburn. On the thirty-first of the month it was determined to
have a general review of the troops ; the retreat was not to begin until
ten o'clock. Early in the morning Charles Edward, still hoping that the
desertions were not so numerous as had been represented, and that the
"odious retreat" might be prevented, came out to view his troops. There
was hardly the appearance of an army to receive him. On hearing the
decision of the Prince, the men had risen at day-break and had gone oft
to the Frews, many of them having arrived by that time at that ford.
There was nothing to be done ; Lord George Murray, who had now joined
the Prince from Falkirk, and who was quartered with some troops In the
town of Stirling, was summoned. The Prince marched off with some of the
chiefs and the few troops he had with him. and Lord George brought up
the rear.
A great portion of the
artillery was left behind f the heaviest pieces being nailed up and
abandoned. The retreat was thus precipitately commenced, and presented a
very different aspect to the withdrawal of the Prince's troops from
Derby.
Of this disorderly and
disreputable march. Lord George Murray knew nothing until it was begun.
The very morning on which it took place, the church of St. Ninian's,
where the powder was lodged, was blown up. Lord George Murray was in his
quarters when he heard the great noise of the explosion, and thought it
was a firing from the Castle. "My sur-prise," he thus writes, ''is not
to be expressed. I knew no enemy was even come the length of Falkirk; so
that, except the garrison of Stirling Castle, nothing could hurt us. I
imagined they had sallied, and made the confusion I observed. I shall
say no more about this; a particular account of it is wrote. I believe
the like of it never was heard of."
The destruction of St.
Ninian's tower is attributed by most historians to the awkwardness of
the Highlanders, in attempting to destroy their ammunition. " I am apt
to think it was an accident," observes Maxwell, ff or, at least, the
design of some very private person, for there was no warning given to
anybody to get out of the way. Nine or ten country people, and five of
the Jacobite soldiers, perished from the explosion; and the Prince, over
whose existence a special Providence appeared to have watched, was
within being hurt when the explosion took place."
The Highland army was
quartered on the first night of their march at Doune and Dumblain; and
assembled the next day at Crieff. Here Charles Edward again reviewed
them, and to his surprise found that they had mostly re-assembled, and
that scarcely a thousand of the troops were wanting. The young Prince,
who had reluctantly consented to the retreat upon the supposition that
he had lost one half of his army, reproached Lord George Murray with
having advised that step. Many were the censures heaped upon the General
for his councils; and it must be acknowledged, that the caution apparent
ir. his character was, in this instance, carried to an extreme. He
excused himself on the plea of his opinion having been that of the whole
army; but exonerated himself from any participation in the sudden
departure, or, as he calls it, "the flighty" from Stirling. At the
council which was then called, heats and animosities rose to a height
which had never before been witnessed, even among the vehement and
discordant advisers of the Prince. After many fierce altercations, it
was determined that Prince Charles should march to Inverness by the
Highland road; and that Lord George Murray, with his horse, and the low
country regiments, should proceed along the coast road, by Montrose and
Aberdeen to the same place.
During the last few
months the Marquis of Tullibardine had been stationary, employing
himself in the fruitless endeavour to stimulate the tenantry and the
neighbourhood to join the army of Charles Edward. After leaving
Bannockburn he remained at Polmaise, a small village in Stirlingshire,
until urged by Lord George to repair to Blair Castle, to garrison that
place; for which purpose, according to his opinion, a body of fifty men
would be sufficient. In his letters to his brother, Lord George
recommends a degree of severity towards deserters which was not
consonant with the oId temper of Tullibardine: "Those who have gone home
without a special licence on furlough, must be exemplarily punished,
either in their persons or effects, or in both; for when our all
depends, feuity would be folly." After urging the Marquis to send off
the men to Blair by dozens, he adds, "If rewards and punishments do not,
I know not what will. By the laws of God and man you have both in your
power and your person: thus alluding to the Marquis's position as a
chief.
But those decisive
measures were impracticable. "I was ordered by the Duke of Atholl,"
writes David Robertson from Blair, to his brother, an officer in Lord
George's regiment, "to take up and imprison all deserters; but I might
as well attempt to move a mountain, being left here without money, or
men capable of being made officers." Nor was the Marquis's power more
effectual, The most sincere desire to comply with every wish or counsel
of Lord George Murray's, actuated, indeed, this estimable man. He seems,
from his letters, to have felt the most unbounded and affectionate
admiration for his brother; a sentiment only inferior to his devotion to
the Prince: yet we can perceive a covert allusion in some of his
injunctions to those frequent disagreements with Charles, of which the
Marquis was probably not ignorant, Pray, take care of our young
masters glory as well as your own.
By Robertson of Strowan,
a man noted for his eccentricities, a very gloomy view was taken of the
proceedings of the generals and courtiers who surrounded Charles. He was
ordered by the Prince to stay at home, and to stop all the deserters who
came in his way. He obeyed the command ; but obeyed with the
observation, that "all were running to the devil, except the Duke of
Atholl and the Laird of Strowan." He hinted in his letters, that he
could disclose much to the " Duke," respecting his nearest relations,
both as to their dislike to himself, and their disrespect to his Grace.
The friendly intercourse between Lord George and his brother continued,
nevertheless, unabated. The former on one occasion congratulates his
brother on the valour of the "Atholl men," at the battle of Falkirk. The
encomium was answered by the Marquis's complaints of the sad change in
the spirit and loyalty of the Clan since the defection of their
"unnatural brother James" from the Stuart cause. Nothing but vexations
and disappointments occurred to the Marquis on his return to Blair. His
rents were refused by his tenants on account of their expenditure in the
Prince's service, and the country around Perth was left exposed to the
enemy. For some time entreaties from Lord George to his brother, that he
would send men to replace those who were killed at Falkirk of the Atholl
men, were met by excuses too well grounded in reason. All the "corners
of the country" were searched by the Marquis's agent, to raise the men
in an "amicable way," but without avail. The exertions of poor
Tullibardine, nevertheless, continued indefatigable, notwithstanding the
truly Scottish complaints, sciatica and rheumatic pains. "I omit," he
writes, "nothing that lies in my power that can contribute towards the
public service. God knows what dilatory and imposing evasions one has to
struggle with amid a multitude of refractory people in these parts." At
length the sum of three hundred pounds was sent to him by Secretary
Murray in order to maintain the recruits whom he had raised on his own
estates.
Eventually the seeds of
dissension were sown between Lord George Murray and his brother. Nor can
we wonder, however we may grieve, at such an event. The aim of the one
was personal glory, fame. The whole heart of the other was centred in
the success of the cause. When he suspected that the intentions of that
brother, of whom he was so proud, were less disinterested than his own,
a mild, but earnest and mournful reproof was wrung from his kind and
trusting heart.
Until, however, the seat
of war was transferred to the paternal home of Lord George Murray—whnst
his immediate interests were spared—the Marquis of Tullibardine evinced
the most sincere confidence in hi, intentions, and admiration for his
talents. Afterwards, suspicions, which have been ii. a great measure
dissipated by the testimony of brave and honourable men, might disturb
the repose, but could not, eventually, sully the fame of Lord George
Hurray. In thus reverting to the domestic concerns of this celebrated
man the position of his lady and children naturally recur. Lady George
Murray had resided during the troubles of 17io at Tullibardine, in the
parish of Blackford, in Perthshire. The castle of Tullibardine had been
fortified by a portion of the Earl of Mar's army in 1715: but was taken
by the Earl of Argyle. Until after the close of the last insurrection it
was inhabited bv Lady George Murray; but when the fate of her husband
was involved in the general wreck, the old building was suffered to fall
to ruin. From this residence, such of Lady George Murray's letters to
her husband as are preserved in the Atholl correspondence are dated.
They are chiefly addressed to the Marquis of Tullibardine, and form the
medium of correspondence between him and his brother. Here, too, she
gave birth, after the battle of Falkirk, to a daughter named Katherine;
and during the confinement which followed this event, her Ladyship's
office as correspondent was fulfilled by her young daughter, who bore
the name of Amelia. To the letter of this child, Lord Tullibardine
replies with his accustomed courtesy and kindly feeling. "With extreme
satisfaction I received," he says, "a mighty well wrote letter from you,
which could not but charm me with your endearing merit. I rejoice in
being able to congratulate your mother and you on the glorious share my
brother George has again had in the fresh victory which Providence has
given the Prince Regent over his proud Hanoverian enemies ! Dear child,
I thank you kindly for enquiring after my health." To these near, and,
as it appears, cherished ties, Lord George was probably reunited during
the march to Crieff. But, whatever of domestic happiness he may have
enjoyed, its duration was transient; and he passed on to a service full
of the hardships of war, but in 'which he was doomed never more to
possess the laurels of victory.
From Crieff, Lord George
Murray marched to Perth, and thence by Montrose and Aberdeen to
Inverness. During the inclemency of the winter many of the cavalry lost
their horses ; but the troopers being, as Sir Walter relates, "chiefly
gentlemen, continued to adhere with fidelity to their ill-omened
standards."
A storm of snow rendered
the march from Aberdeen both dangerous and tedious. Lord George had
above three hundred carriages of artillery to convey, although a great
portion of the artillery was sunk in the river Tay, at Perth. In forming
a lunction at Inverness, the Prince had three objccts in view —to reduce
Fort-William and Fort-Augustus, on one side; on the other to disperse
the army with which Lord Loudon had opposed him in the north; lastly, to
keep possession of the east coast, from which quarter reinforcements and
supplies were expected to arrive from France. It was, therefore, decided
that Lord George Murray should continue along the eastern coast, in
order to intercept Lord Loudon's army, in case it came that way. On the
sixteenth of February he crossed the river Spey, and proceeded by Elgin,
Forres, and Nairn, to Culloden, where he arrived the day before the
castle of Inverness surrendered to Charles. Lord George Murray then gave
the Prince an account of his march, of which oven this hardy General
speaks as of a journey of inconceivable trouble and fatigue. Here
discussions took place, in which, as usual, the Prince differed in some
important points from his Lieutenant-General. The plan which Lord George
proposed was, to procure live thousand boils of meal in Bamff, Murray,
and Nairn, laying a tax in an especial manner on these several shires,
and to send this supply to the Highlands; so that in case the Duke of
Cumberland, who was now proceeding northwards, should follow them
thither, they could have subsistence. To this scheme Charles objected ;
and the meal was lodged in Inverness. His confidence in his General,
notwithstanding the incessant displays of his ability, was now wholly
undermined. Charles's affairs were indeed rapidly declining; money, the
principal sinew of war, was wanting. this little stock might have held
out a little longer," observes Mr. Maxwell, "had it been well managed;
but it is more than probable that his principal steward was a thief from
the beginning." The Secretary Murray, against whom this charge is
levelled, was not., perhaps, more faithless when he appropriated to
himself the funds of his unfortunate master, than when he planted in the
breast of Charles, misgivings of his friends, and abused his influence
to mislead a confiding nature. There was, how ever, no proof against Mur
ray of Broughton of dishonesty, "but there were very strong
presumptions; and his underlings, who suspected that their opportunity
would not last long, made the best of it, and filled their pockets with
the public money.
By the officers and
soldiers at Culloden, Lord George was received with joy. They regretted
his absence, and were pleased to say that had he been with them they
should have "given a good account of Lord Loudon and his troops, whom
they had been prevented from pursuing at Inverness." Lord George soon
found that these professions were sincere. The Prince was induced to
send him to Dingwall, that he might assist the Earl of Cromartie in
pursuing Lord Loudon, who had passed up to Tain. This scheme hawing
proved impracticable, he returned to Inverness.
Meantime the county of
Atholl suffered under the unparalleled cruelties of the English
soldiery. The Duke of Cumberland had visited that interesting district;
and ii requires little more to be said, to comprehend that beauty was
turned to desolation ; that crimes hitherto unheard of among a British
army reflected dishonour on the conquerors, and brought misery to the
conquered. Gn the sixth of February, 1746, the Duke had arrived at
Perth. His first orders were to seize the Duchess of Perth, the mother
of the Duke, and the Viscountess Strathallan, and to carry them to a
small, wretched prison in Edinburgh, where they remained nearly a year.
The Duke of Cumberland was succeeded at Edinburgh by his brother-in-law,
the Prince of Hesse, who had landed at Leith with five thousand
.infantry and five hundred huzzars in the pay of England. These were
stationed in the capital, ready to swarm into the country to subdue its
brave inhabitants.
Whilst Lord George Murray
was still at Inverness, he heard that his cherished home, the territory
of his proud forefathers, the scenes of his youth, were ravaged by a
detachment of Cumberland's army. The houses of such gentlemen as had
assisted Prince Charles were burned; and their families, after receiving
every species of indignity that could palliate the guilt of a future
revenge, and that could break honest hearts, were turned out to perish
on the hills with cold and hunger. The very nature of Englishmen appears
to have been changed during this most mournful, most disgraceful
warfare; and never did the British army sink so low in morals, in
humanity, as during the German yoke of a Prince whom one rejects as a
countryman.
Lord George was instantly
ordered to go to Atholl. Little could he suspect the construction
afterwards placed on his conduct, and the snare which was laid for him
by his enemies, n the events of the next few weeks.
Lord George marched with
unheard of dispatch towards Atholl. Already had the Duke of Cumberland
placed at different parts, in that district, bands of the Argyleshire
Campbells, to the amount of three hundred in number. A thousand more, it
was reported, were coming from the same quarter; and it was Lord
George's aim to intercept this reinforcement. He set off, followed by
his brave "Atholl-men," conducting his march through byways across the
mountains; and in one march, day and night, he traversed a tract of
thirty miles. It was, however, impossible to transport cannon through
these almost impassable solitudes; yet, with a force not exceeding seven
hundred men, Lord George contrived to surprise the enemy at these posts.
lie entered Atholl "n the early part of the night; his detachment then
separated, and, dividing itself into small parties, each gentleman whose
home had been invaded took the shortest road to his own house. The
English soldiers were surprised in their sleep, and, according to the
Chevalier Johnstone, lay murdered in their beds ; but this is
contradicted by many authorities.10 These
Highland gentlemen attacked, during that night, thirty of the posts in
question, and all of them were carried. Few of the Government troops
were put to the sword; about three hundred were taken prisoners, and
between two and three hundred barricaded themselves in the Castle of
Blair.
The Marquis of
Tullibardine had, it appears, been driven from that fortress some time
previously. Misfortune was not new to one who had joined in the
insurrection of 1715.
"As the late
Rothiemurcus, your father," he writes to a friend in a letter to which
he dared not even state his place of residence, "showed me particular
friendship and kindness on just such an unfortunate occasion as the
present, makes me hope you will have 110 less regard for me in taking
care of some small concerns of mine; which consists in taking care of
two of three of my servants and some baggage, which I send you, rather
than it should fall into enemies' hands ; so that if you cannot keep it,
and get it sent me in time and place convenient, it may be of some use
to yourself, whom I esteem on your family and father's account ; though
we have not had the occasion of a personal acquaintance, which 1 hope
may yet agreeably happen, in whatever bad situation our affairs may at
present appear; then I may agreeably be able to return you suitable
thanks for such an obligation as will for ever oblige,
"Sir,
"Your affectionate humble
servant and cousin,
"Atholl."
14th March. 1746.
The Clan of Atholl was
the largest that engaged in Prince Charles's service, and numbered
nearly fifteen hundred men. Lord George now collected throe hundred more
of these vassals, and invested Blair Castle. One difficulty he had n the
deficiency of cannon ; he obtained, however, some field-pieces from
Inverness, but his artillery was too light to make an impression on the
walls. There was an alternative, which was, to reduce the castle by
famine. Blair, as it happened, was defended by a stout and sturdy
veteran, Sir Andrew Agnew, who was resolved only to yield upon extreme
necessity his important charge. During the siege, Lord George wrote on
the subject of the enterprise to his brother the Marquis of
Tullibardine. The letter was answered in a manner which shows that some
want of candour had been evinced towards the Marquis, who was regarded
by all the Jacobites as the legitimate owner of Blair. The epistle
breathes the tone of mournful resentment. "Since, contrary to the rules
of right reason, you have been pleased to tell me a sham story about the
expedition to Blair," such are the expressions used by the Marquis of
Tullibardine, "you may now do what the gentlemen of that country wish
with the castle."* With the true value of a high-born man for the
memorials of his ancestors, the Marquis grieved most for the loss of his
great-great-grandfather's grandfather's, and father's pictures. "They
will be ane irreparable loss." But every thing that could promote the
public service was to be resigned cheerfully and willingly for that
cause. Not only did he proffer the sacrifice of his castle, but he
pointed out to his brother a gate which had formerly been a portcullis,
leading into t. This was at that time half-built up, and boarded, with a
hollow large enough to hold a horse at rack and manger; and the Marquis
suggested that this place might be more easily penetrated than any other
part of the wall, so as to make an entrance into the vaulted room called
"the Servants' Hall."
Whether or not Lord
George decided to take advantage of this hint is unknown. The attack
made upon the Castle of Blair was conducted by him in person, and was
begun simultaneously with those headed by his followers upon the various
posts at Blairfitty, Kinachie side, and several places near Blair. Upon
the persons of the prisoners were found copies of their orders from the
Duke of Cumberland, and these were signed by Colonel Campbell, and
contained instructions to attack the rebels wherever they should meet
them; and in case of resistance, it was the Duke's orders that they
should get no quarter. Stimulated by these intercepted documents, Lord
George, early on the morning of the eighteenth of March, began the siege
of Blair.
Many have been the
accounts given, and various are the surmises upon the motives of Lord
George in not reducing the castle; but in estimating the real
difficulties of his undertaking, the testimony of a soldier and a
contemporary must be taken in evidence.
Blair was defended by a
man of no ordinary character, Sir Andrew Agnew, Lieutenant-Colonel of
the Royal North British Fusiliers, who had been sent with a detachment
from Perth by the route of Dunkeld, through the pass of Killicrankie, to
take possession of the Castle.
"When Sir Andrew first
posted himself in Blair no apprehensions of a blockade were entertained
; and no fear of a supply of provisions being cut off was suggested. The
quantity of garrison provisions sent into it was therefore extremely
small, as was also the store of ammunition. In regard to water, the
garrison were in a better condition. A draw-well in the castle supplied
them after the blockade: previously, the inhabitants had usually fetched
the water they required from a neighbouring barn or brook, which formed
itself into a pool in front of the house.
Blair Castle was then an
irregular and very high building, with walls of great thickness, having
a great tower, called Cumming's Tower, projecting from the west end of
the front of the house, which faces the north. This tower could be
defended by musket shot from its windows.
Adjoining to the eastern
gavel of the old house a new building had been begun, but had only been
carried up a few feet at the time of the siege. Since the year 1745,
great alterations have been made in. this building, which has been
lowered and modernized, and the Cumming's Tower wholly taken away.
It was between nine and
ten in the morning when Lord George Murray appeared before Blair Castle,
and planted his men so as to prevent the garrison from sallying out, or
from getting in provisions. The castle was soon so completely invested
by the advanced guard of the Jacobites, that they fired from behind the
nearest walls and enclosures at the picket guard of the besieged. Some
horses were hurriedly taken into the Castle with a small quantity of
provender; and in such haste, that one of these animals was put into the
lower part of Cumming's Tower without forage or water.
There was a great
entrance and staircase on the east side of the Castle; this was now
barricaded, and a small guard placed near it; the garrison, consisting
of two hundred and seventy men, were then parcelled out into different
chambers, with a charge not to fire until actually attacked. A sort of
platform was laid over the new building of the Castle, and an ensign
with a guard of twenty-five soldiers placed on this to defend that part
from serving as a lodgement to the besiegers. There was also a guard
placed over the draw-well, to prevent the water being drawn up except at
a certain hour :n the morning. Besides the garrison, there were within
the Castle, about seven servants of the Duke of Atholl's, namely, a land
steward, a female housekeeper, three maid servants, a gardener, and a
gamekeeper.
Lord George Murray having
established his quarters in the village of Blair, about a quarter of a
mile from the north of the castle, soon sent down a summons to Sir
Andrew Agnew, Bart, to surrender, intimating that "he should answer to
the contrary at his peril."
Now Sir Andrew was
reputed to be a man of an outrageous temper; and the Highlanders, who
could face the Duke of Cumberland's dragoons, shrank from encountering
the sturdy, imperious old soldier. The only person, therefore, who could
be prevailed upon to carry the summons, was a maid-servant from the inn
at Blair, who being a comely Highland girl, and acquainted with some of
the soldiers, conceived herself to be on so friendly a footing with them
that she might encounter the risk. The summons was written on a very
dirty piece of paper; and corresponded well with the appearance of the
herald who conveyed it. Provided with this, the young woman set out; as
she approached the Castle, she waived the summons over her head several
times, and drawing near one of the windows on the basement story, made
herself heard. She was received by the officers with boisterous mirth:
they assured her that they should soon visit the village, and her
masters house, again, and drive away the Highlanders. But, when
entreated by the girl to take her into Sir Andrew's presence, they all
at first refused; at last the summons was reluctantly conveyed to the
commandant by a lieutenant more venturesome than the rest. This emissary
soon, however, fled from the presence of the baronet, who broke out with
the most vehement expressions of rage on reading the contents of the
paper; uttered strong epithets against Lord George Murray, and
threatened to shoot any messenger who might dare to convey any future
communication.
The young girl returned
to Blair. As she drew near the •village, she perceived Lord George
Murray, Lord Nairn, Clunie Macpherson and other officers standing in the
churchyard of Blair; and observed that they were evidently diverted by
her errand, and its result.
From that time Lord
George Murray made no attempt to hold any parley with the garrison, but
continued to blockade the Castle. His men were even posted close up
against the walls, wherever they could not be annoyed with the musketry
; particularly at that part on which the scaffold guard was placed,
where they stood, heaving up stones from time to time, and uttering
their jokes against the veteran, Sir Andrew Agnew.
"The cannon," as Lord
George Murray observes in his narrative, "were not only small, but bad.
One of them seldom hit the Castle, though not half-musket shot from it."
Various schemes were
formed by Lord George during this siege, but many obstacles concurred to
check them. It had indeed been proposed before Lord George left
Inverness, to blow up Blair Castle but not only had Lord George no
orders to attempt that, but there seemed also to be a difficulty from
the situation of the place.
It appeared at one time
his intention, also, to have set the building on lire. "On the
eighteenth," writes Lord Elcho, "Lord George began to fire against the
Castle with two four pounders; and as he had a furnace along with him,
finding his bullets were too small to damage the walls, he endeavoured
by firing red hot balls to set the house on fire, and several times set
the roof on fire, but by the care of the besieged it was always
extinguished. A constant fire of small arms was kept against the
windows, and the besieged kept a close fire from the castle with their
small arms." "As the castle," continues the same writer, "is situated
upon rocky ground, there was no blowing it up; so the only chance Lord
George had to get possession of it was to starve it, which he had some
hopes of, as there were so many mouths m it." From this opinion, the
judgment of Lord George Murray, in some measure, differed. "It might, I
believe," he says, "have been entered by the old stables, under
protection of which the wall could have been undermined, if I had been
furnished with proper workmen." But all his efforts, in both these
schemes, proved ineffectual. The red hot balls lodging in the solid
timbers of the roof, only charred, and did not ignite the beams ; and
falling down, were caught up in iron ladles brought out of the Duke of
Atholl's kitchen, and thrown into water. Disappointed in this attempt,
Lord George removed his few field-pieces to a nearer position on the
south side of the Castle, where, however, his firing produced no better
effect than heretofore.
Never was there an
officer more insensible to fear than the defender of Blair. Whilst Lord
George was thus ineffectually battering the walls of the house, Sir
Andrew Agnew looked out over the battlements; and seeing the little
impression that was made on the walls, he exclaimed, "Hout! I daresay
the man's mad, knocking down his own brother's house."
Meantime the siege lasted
nearly a fortnight, and the garrison were reduced to the greatest
extremity for provisions. One hope, however, the commandant had, and
that was of sallying forth, and escaping. The Castle of Menzies was then
occupied by Colonel Webster, who was posted there in order to secure the
passage of the river Tay; and, as an alternative to starvation, a scheme
was suggested for stealing out from Blair in the night time, and
marching through a mountainous part of country to join the king's troops
at Castle Menzies.
"Whilst this project was
in. contemplation, the brave garrison were threatened with a new danger.
During the blockade, there was heard a noise of knocking, seemingly
beneath the floor of the Castle, as if miners were at work in its deep
vaults, to blow it up. All the inmates of Blair thought such must indeed
be the cast;: for Lord George had now gained possession of a
bowling-green near the Castle, and also of a house 'u which the bowls
were kept: from this bowl-house a subterranean passage might easily have
been dug to the very centre of the ground underneath the building, and a
chamber or mine formed there for holding barrels of gunpowder,
sufficient to complete the work of destruction. This scheme must have
occurred to the mind of Lord George Murray, who was born at Blair, and
well acquainted with its construction. His objections to pursue it
appear, as has been stated, to have been perceived and controverted by
the Marquis of Tullibardine. They arose, as he has himself declared, and
as the English also appear to have considered, from his want of workmen
to perform the attempt. The plan of undermining was not thought
practicable; and the noise which so greatly alarmed the garrison was
proved to be only the reverberation of strokes of an axe with which a
soldier was cutting a block of wood which lay on the floor of one of the
uppermost rooms. The most unfavourable suspicions were, however,
eventually affixed to Lord George's neglect of this mode of attack.
Whether such conduct proceeded, on his part, from an aversion to destroy
the home of his youth, and his birthplace; whether he had still hopes of
reducing Sir Andrew to capitulate; or whether, as it has been often
vaguely asserted, a secret agreement existed between himself and James,
Duke of Atholl, that the Castle should be saved, can only be determined
by a far closer insight into motives than human power can obtain. We may
accord to Lord George Murray, without a blemish on his fidelity, a
pardonable reluctance to level to the dust the pride of his family; that
every effort was made to subdue Blair, except the last, is evident from
the testimony of all contemporary historians.
Meantime the garrison had
one source of confidence in their extremity, on which sailors are more
apt to reckon than landsmen. They trusted to the luck of their
commandant. Never had the stout veteran who had fought, in 1706, at
Ramilies, been either sick, or wounded. He had never been in any battle
that the English did not win. Yet it was deemed prudent not to allow any
means of aid to be neglected, in so pressing a danger as the state of
the siege presented.
The Earl of Crawford was
then supposed to be at Dunkeld, having the command both of the British
troops and of a body of Hessians who had lately been marched from
Edinburgh. It was resolved to send to that nobleman for aid. The Duke of
Atholl's gardener, a man named Wilson, undertook that dangerous embassy;
he was charged with a letter from Sir Andrew to the Earl, and was
allowed to take his choice of any horse in the Castle.
Before Sir Andrew and his
starving garrison could gain intelligence of the fate of Wilson, or
could have heard the result of his enterprise, a strange reverse in
their affairs took place. On the morning of the first of April, not a
single Highlander was to be seen by any of the guards on duty. All had
vanished ; and a visit from the young woman from the inn at Blair
shortly followed their disappearance. From her, the garrison heard that
Lord George had, in fear of the arrival of troops from Dunkeld, suddenly
withdrawn with all his followers. The old Sir Andrew, nevertheless,
fearful of some stratagem, would not allow his garrison to sally out:
they were shut up until the following day, when the Earl (if Crawford
appeared before the castle, and relieved all fears. The officers and
soldiers were then drawn out, with Sir Andrew at the head of it. "My
Lord," cried the old soldier, "I am very glad to see you; but, by all
that's good, you are come too late, and we have nothing to give you to
eat!" To which Lord Crawford answered courteously; and laughing, begged
of Sir Andrew to partake of such provisions as he had brought with him.
That day Sir Andrew and the Earl, and their officers, dined in the
summer-house of the garden at Blair, in high spirits at the result of
the siege.
The disappearance of Lord
George Murray was soon explained; nor can the statement of those reasons
which induced him to abandon the siege of Blair be given in a more
satisfactory manner than as they were stated by Lord Elcho; to whom they
must have appeared satisfactory, otherwise he would not have left so
clear and decisive a testimony a favour of Lord George Murray's motives.
It is worthy of remark, that Lord Elcho's statement agrees in every
particular with that addressed some years afterwards by Lord George to
Mr. Murray of Abercairney, and now preserved in the Jacobite Memoirs by
Forbes.
"On the twenty-fourth of
March, the Hessians from Perth and Crieff moved to its relief. They
encamped the first night at Nairn House, and next night at Dunkeld, and
there was some filing betwixt them and a party of Lord George's across
the river. Those that marched from Crieff encamped at Tay Bridge on the
twenty -seventh. Upon this motion of the Hessians, Lord George sent an
express to the Prince, to tell him that if he would send twelve hundred
men, he would pitch upon an advantageous ground and fight them. The
Prince sent him word he could not send him them in the way his army was
then situated. On the thirty-first the Earl of Crawford marched with St.
George's Dragoons, five hundred Hessians, and sixty Hussars, and
encamped at Dawallie, four miles north of Dunkeld, and next day they
advanced to Pittachrie. Both these days Lord George had several
skirmishes with the hussars; but although he laid several snares for
them, he never could catch but one of them, who was an officer and a
Swede, who had his horse shot under him. Lord George used him very
civilly, and sent him back with a letter of compliment which he wrote to
the Prince of Hesse. On the first of April Lord George Murray drew his
men up in battle opposite to Lord Crawford at Pittachrie, and then
retreated before him, m order to draw him into the pass of Killicrankie;
but Lord Crawford never moved, but sent for reinforcements to the Prince
of Hesse. Lord George, upon hearing of the march of that reinforcement
to sustain Lord Crawford, and that the body of Hessians from Lay Bridge
were marching to Blair by Kinachin, quitted the country and marched his
men to Strathspan, and from thence to Speyside. He himself went to
Inverness, where he found his enemies had persuaded the Prince that he
might have taken Blair Castle f he had had a mind, but that he had
spared it because it was his brother's house;
and n short they made the
Prince believe, that in the letter he had wrote to the Prince of Hesse,
he had engaged to betray him the first opportunity; and that by the
Prince of Ilcsse and his brother's means, he was entirely reconciled to
the government. What Mr. Murray had insinuated to the Prince about Lord
George, on his first coming to Perth had made such an impression, that
the Prince always believed it, notwithstanding Lord George's behaviour
was such (especially in action) as to convince the whole army of the
falsity of such accusations. However it opened his mind upon the matter
of the Irish officers, so far as to make some of them promise to watch
Lord George's motions, particularly in case of a battle, and they
promised the Prince to shoot him, if they could find he intended to
betray him."
From the following letter
addressed by Lord George Murray to his brother the Marquis of
Tullibardine, it is evident that he had had it in contemplation during
some time, to abandon the siege of Blair, and that the sudden appearance
of the body of Hessians six thousand strong, within a day's march of
Blair, was not the only cause of his raising a siege which every one
acknowledges must have terminated in favour of the besiegers within a
few days.
"Blair, 29th of March,
1746.
"Dear Brother,*
"I received your letter
of the 26th, I am sorry you seem to think I told you a sham story (as
you express it) about our expedition here. I told you we were to
endeavour to take possession of Castle Grant, and try to hinder that
Clan taking party against us; this was done so far as in our power I
also told you if we could contrive to surprise any of the parties in
this country we might attempt it; but that depended so much upon
incidents, that my very hopes could not reach so far as we performed.
Secrecy and expedition was our main point, once we resolved upon the
thing, which was not till I met Clunie and Sheen in Badenoch If the
greatest fatigues, dangers, and hard duties deserve approbation, I think
some thanks arc due to us, and from none more than yourself ; for my own
part, I was once seventy hours without three of sleep; but we undergo
all hardships for the good of common cause. You will ever find me, dear
brother, your most affectionate brother and faithful servant,
"George Murray."
"I am so unsupported with
men, money, and every thing else, our people here have no pay, that
after all our endeavours, I'm afraid we must abandon this country
without the Castle."
This letter brought the
following characteristic reply. It is dated from Inverness, whither the
Marquis had repaired,*
"Brother George.
"This evening I had yours
of yesterday's date. As to any difference betwixt you and I, without
prejudice to passed expedition and secrecy mentioned, at meeting it must
be discussed the best way we can, since lately behaving according to
dutiful sentiments, nobody is more satisfied than I am of your
indefatigable activity for the public service. Had you sent me your
letters to the Secretary, who I am very sorry to say is at Elgin
dangerously ill, or any other of the Ministry to whom expresses were
addressed, I should have directly endeavoured getting the most
satisfactory answers could be sent your pressing reale demands, which
are not well understood if much regarded by everybody here; I am
informed by Mr. Hay and Cruben, who were just now with me, that all the
men who were with you have been fully paid till Wednesday last; and that
with some necessary foresight and pains, you might have had a good deal
of provisions from below the Pass, whilst that expedient was practicable
; since you might have naturally known that money cannot be soon sent
from hence, but on an absolute necessity; you know that meal can be
still brought you from Kiliwhimen. With that I wrote to you the
twenty-sixth, in case the enemy could not be otherwise forced out of ray
house, I gave Sir Thomas Sheridan an account to be sent to you of a
secret passage into it, which is here again transmitted, in case of
making any advantageous use of it has been hitherto neglected; was it
not hoped by this time you have near got the better of these obstinate
intruders into the Castle, at any rate I should go myself and try if I
could not usefully help towards reducing them to a speedy surrendering
of such unfortified, though thick old walls as it is composed of. Pray
continue your accustomed vigilance on such a valuable occasion as will
render you dear to all honest men, as well as particularly giving me an
opportunity of showing with what esteem I am.
Your most affectionate
brother.
And most humble servant."
"Inverness, 30th of
March, 1746 " [No Signature]
In addition to the
testimony of Lord Elcho, that of Maxwell of Kirkconnel. has considerable
weight in Lord George Murray's favour,
"He was censured,"
observes this excellent writer, "by his enemies as being too tender of a
family seat. As I do not know the situation of this Castle, I cannot
determine whether it was in his power to blow it up, or whether he had
time to do it after he was informed of the march of the Hessians. But he
has been so calumniated by the Secretary and his creatures, that nothing
less than a direct proof ought to have any weight against him. In this
case it is absurd to suspect him, because the family seat could never be
in danger. If it was in his power to blow it up, he had only to quaint
the Governor when the mine was ready, and let him send one of his
officers to view it; the Governor would certainly have prevented the
effecting it and saved the Castle."
About the same time that
the siege of Blai r was abandoned, that of Fort William was also raised.
It was found, indeed, difficult to make the Highlanders perform the
regular duties of a siege; extremely brave in an attack, when allowed to
fight in their own way, they were not possessed of that steady valour
which is necessary to maintain a post; and it was not easy to keep them
long in their quarters, or even at their posts, without action.''
The loss of Blair, and
the failure of the siege of Fort William, were followed by other
misfortunes. Fatal mistakes in the vain endeavour to retrieve a sinking
cause ensued. In the midst of his adversity, the young and gallant
adventurer, for whom so much blood was shed, supported his spirits in a
wonderful manner, and acted, with a heavy heart, the part of the gay and
prosperous. He gave balls at Inverness, and even danced himself, which
he had declined doing when in the midst of his prosperity at Edinburgh.
Those who looked only on the surface, of affairs were deceived by his
appearance of happiness; but the well informed knew too well that the
crisis which was to end the struggle was rapidly approaching. To
complete the sad summary of disappointments and misfortunes, it was now
ascertained that the expedition from Boulogne, and that from Dunkirk,
with which the false-hearted French had so long amused the unfortunate
Jacobites, were entirely and perfidiously relinquished.
Lord George Murray,
meantime, was ordered to march to Inverness. He was now worn with
fatigues, and by the protracted anxieties of his situation. Foreseeing,
as he must have done, many of the dangers and difficulties of the
contest; observing, on the one hand, his eldest brother, the Marquis of
Tullibardine, the adherent of the Stuarts, proscribed, impoverished, a
nominal proprietor of his patrimonial estates; on the other, beholding
his second brother, the actual Duke of Atholl, cherished by Government,
prosperous, honours showered down upon him; what impulses less strong
than that of a generous, and fixed principle of fidelity could have
maintained his exertions in a service so desperate as that in which he
had engaged.
The great deficiency in
Lord George Murray's character was the absence of hope; but, independent
of that vital defect, his attributes as a soldier and a general cannot
fail to excite admiration. His exertions were unparalleled; besides the
marching and fatigue that others had to undergo, he had the vast
responsibility of command. Though others were relieved and took their
turns," he remarks, "I had none to relieve." On first assuming the
command, he received and despatched every express himself; and saw the
guards and sentinels settled. In gaining intelligence he was
indefatigable; and his discipline was such that the country suffered but
little from the visitations of his well-governed forces. But the time
was fast approaching when his great abilities, which never ceased to be
acknowledged by the whole army, his fortitude, and personal valour were
to be put to the severest test.
On the third of April,
Lord George Murray joined Charles Edward at Inverness. On the eleventh
intelligence was received that the Duke of Cumberland, who had been
stationed for some time at Aberdeen, was marching towards Inverness. At
first the intelligence of the Duke's approach was received with
acclamations of joy ; but the circumstances under which the battle of
Culloden was eventually fought, and the fatigues and impediments by
which it was prefaced, changed that sentiment into one of distrust and
despondency.
Upon receiving
intelligence of the Duke's approach, expresses were sent in all
directions in order to reassemble the Jacobite forces. Those troops
which had been at the siege of Fort William were on their march to
Inverness; but Lord Cromartie and his detachment were still at a great
distance : the Duke of Perth and Lord John Drummond were at Spey-side,
with a considerable body of men and all the horse. These were ordered to
retire as Cumberland's army approached. Unhappily, many of the
Highlanders, it being now seed time, had slipped away to their homes,
and it was, indeed, no easy task to allure them back. The influence of
Lord George Murray over the forces continued, nevertheless, unabated.
His mode of managing this fine, but rude people, was well adapted to his
purpose, and proceeded from an intimate knowledge of their character.
"Fear" he considered as necessary as "love" "I was told," he remarks,
"that all the Highlanders were gentlemen, and never to be beaten, but I
was well acquainted with their tempers.'' Their chiefs even inflicted
personal chastisement upon them, which they received without murmurs w
hen conscious of an offence. But they would only receive correction from
their own officers, and never would the chief of one Clan correct even
the lowest soldier of another. "But I." observes Lord George, "had as
much authority over them all as each had amongst his own men; and I will
venture to say that never an officer
"These circumstances will
be fully detailed in the Life of the Duke of Perth, was more beloved of
the whole, without exception, than I was." At any time when there was a
post of more danger than another, Lord George, possessing as he did this
unbounded mlluenee over the minds of his countrymen, found it more
difficult to restrain those who were too forward, than in finding those
who were willing to rush into peril.
On Sunday morning, the
thirteenth of April, it became a matter of certainty among the Jacobite
forces that the enemy had passed the Spey. On the following day, Lochiel
joined the army; the Duke of Perth also returned, and the Prince and his
forces assembled on an open moor, near Culloden. Many of the officers
suggested that it would be desirable to retire to a stronger position
than this exposed plain, until the army were all collected, but the
baggage being at Inverness, this scheme was rejected. The experienced
eye of Lord George Murray soon perceived that the ground which had been
chosen was ill-adapted for the Highland mode of warfare, and he proposed
that the other side of the water of Nairn should be reconnoitred. But
objections Were made to any change of position ; and, situated as Lord
George now was, distrusted by the Prince, and, perhaps, m some measure
by others, since the failure at Blair, he was in no condition to contest
so important a point. It was afterwards attempted to venture an attack
by night. To this proposition not only the Prince, but Lord George and
most of the other officers were at first favourable : but, in the
evening, it being generally understood that there was no provision for
the subsistence of the men the next day, a circumstance attributable to
the negligence of the persons employed for the purpose at Inverness, a
number of men dispersed in search of food. The forces being thus
reduced. Lord George objected, n concert with others, to the projected
night march ; but Charles Edward, trusting to the bravery of his army,
and being for fighting on all occasions, was determined cn the attempt.
"What he had seen them do, and the justice of his cause, made him too
venturous." The attack was, therefore, agreed upon, and Lord George
commanding the rear, after marching nearly sis miles, found that it
would be impossible to attack the enemy before day-break, and,
therefore, gave it up, and returned to Culloden about five in the
morning.
Fatigued and hungry, the
army awaited the approach of the English forces. It was between ten and
eleven in the morning when they drew up on the moor, and were placed in
order of battle by O'SulIivan. Again Lord George observed to that
officer, that the ground was unfavourable: the reply was, that the moor
was so interspersed with moss and deep earth, that the enemy's horse and
cannon could be of little service to them; and that it was therefore
well selected. By this time the young and unfortunate Master of Lovat
had joined the forces, but Lord Cromartie was still, by a fatal mistake,
absent; and Macpherson, of Clunie, was at three or four miles distance,
marching with all possible expedition towards Culloden. The stragglers
and others were also collecting, so that, as Lord George conjectured,
the army would have been increased bv two or three thousand more men
that night, or the next day Stimulated by this reflection, he again
looked wistfully to the position beyond the water, and considered that
if they passed there, they would probably leave the moors to the enemy,
and occupy a better post. But he was overruled.
"I shall say little,"
writes Lord George Murray, in his journal, "of this battle, which was so
fatal." In a memoir, written by Colonel Ker, of Gradyne, an otficer of
distinguished military reputation, a minute and animated account is,
however, given of all the incidents of the eventful fifteenth of April.
Charles Edward having
with some difficulty procured some bread and whiskey at Culloden,
reposed for a short time after marching all night. In the morning
intelligence was brought him that the enemy were in sight. Whilst the
army was forming, Colonel Ker was sent to reconnoitre the enemy. On
returning, he informed the Prince and Lord George Murray, who was then
with him, that the enemy were marching in three columns, with their
cavalry on the left, so that they would form their line of battle in an
instant. The Prince then ordered his men to draw up in two lines, and
the few horse which he had were disposed ;n the rear towards the wings;
the cannon was to be dispersed n the front ; this was brought up with
difficulty from the want of horses. The ground which had been occupied
the day before was too distant for the army to reach; so that they were
drawn up a mile to the westward with a stone enclosure which ran down to
the water of Nairn, on the right of the first line.
The Highland soldiers,
many of whom had been summoned from their sleep among the woods of
Culloden, were aroused from among the bushes, and came drowsy, and
half-exhausted to the field; yet they formed themselves into order of
battle with wonderful dispatch. Unhappily no council of war was held
upon the plain of Culloden in the hurry of that day. In addition to the
confusion, and want of concert which this omission produced, was a still
more injurious circumstance. The army, as has been related, was drawn up
in two lines; Lord George commanded the first, which was composed of the
Atholl brigade, This regiment was placed by Lord George on the right of
the line: unfortunately, the Clan Macdonald, proud and fiery, claimed
the precedence. They grounded their assertion of right to the usage of
time immemorial; and to their having had it during the two previous
battles. Lord George, on the other hand, uncompromising as usual,
insisted that in those actions even, his Atholl men had the
pre-eminence. The Prince, unable to decide, persuaded the chief of the
Macdonalds to waive his claim ; but the pride of the Scotch is never
subdued; and whilst Macdonald yielded, their men were offended and
disgusted with his compliance.
The Duke of Cumberland
formed his line of battle at a great distance, and marched in battle
order until he came within cannon shot, when he halted, and placed his
artillery in different parts in the front. His army, to use a military
phrase, outwinged that, of Charles, both to the right and left, without
his cavalry asy task to describe a battle." Most officers are
necessarily taken up with what is near them, and the confusion, noise,
and agitation effectually impede observation. The commencement of the
battle of Culloden was obscured by a thick fall of hail and snow, and on
this occasion the tempestuous climate of Scotland favoured her enemies,
for the Prince's army faced the wind, and encountered the snow-storm in
their faces. It was expected that the Duke would begin the attack; and a
party of his horse were sent during the interval to reconnoitre the
Jacobite army. "When they came within cannon shot, loud hurras were
heard on both sides; and voices (soon for ever to be silenced) sent up
to Heaven expressions of exultation and defiance. The young Chevalier,
whilst awaiting that event, rode along the lines to encourage his men,
placing himself m a post of danger, in which one of his servants was
killed by his side. After some few minutes of solemn expectation. Lord
George Murra\, who commanded the right of the army, sent Colonel Ker to
the Prince to know if he should begin the attack 1 an answer in the
affirmative was returned. As the right was farther distant than the
left. Colonel Ker went first to the Duke of Perth who commanded the
left, and ordered him to begin; he then rode along the field until he
came to the light line, where Lord George Murray received from him a
similar command. The Prince then placed himself behind the centre of the
army, having the whole of his forces under his eye, and thus being able
to send orders on all exigencies.
The cannon of Prince
Charles was first heard. It was returned with a firing from the enemy of
grape shot, which did great execution.
The Highlanders, who were
forbidden to move until the word of command was given, suffered that
fire very impatiently. Some of them threw themselves flat on the ground,
and a few gave way and ran off. The artillery of the enemy was very well
served; that of the Jacobites was managed by common soldiers, the
canncmiers belonging to one battery being absent. The contest was in
every way unequal; yet the brave insurgents, although ready to drop with
fatigue, seemed to forget all their weariness and hunger when the enemy
advanced.
At length, after some
preliminary manoeuvres, the Prince sent orders to Lord George Murray to
march up to the enemy. It seemed, indeed, high time to come to a close
engagement; for the cannonading of the enemy, which was directed chiefly
towards the place which the Prince occupied among the cavalry, was very
destructive; yet still Lord George delayed the attack, judging, as it is
supposed, that the adversaries were still at too great a distance, and
that the strength of his men would be exhausted before they could reach
them. There appears also to have been another reason for the delay ;
Lord George had, on his right, a farm-house, and some old enclosure
walls, which the enemy now occupied ; and he is conjectured to have been
waiting until the Duke of Cumberland's army came up to these walls,
which would prevent him being flanked by the dragoons, who were, he
observed, mostly on the left. But the Duke did not advance. The
Highlanders, who were impatient at the delay, called out loudly to he
led on; and at last he gave the command to attack.
His orders were obeyed.
As his line began to move, the enemy began a smart fire, which played
chiefly upon the Atholl men, and was kept up by a detachment of
Campbells, who were stationed behind the enclosure walls. It was the
custom of the Highlanders to give a general discharge of their
fire-arms, and then to rush, sword in hand, upon their foes: and the
only chance of a victory for their party that day, was a general shock
of their whole line at once; for the fury and valour of these northern
warriors produced results almost incredible. Unhappily, several
circumstances destroyed this advantage. The two armies were not exactly
parallel to each other, the right of Prince Charles's being nearer to
the foe than the left. The impetuosity of the Highlanders was such, that
they broke their ranks before it was time to give their fire; their
eagerness to come up with an enemy that had so greatly the advantage of
them at such a distance, made them rush on with such violence, and in
such a confusion, that their fire-arms were of little service. This, it
appears, was the disadvantage which Lord George had apprehended. But
there was still another inconvenience : the wind, which had favoured the
Jacobites at Falkirk, was now against them. They were buried in a cloud
of smoke, and felt their enemies without seeing them. In spite of all
these obstacles they went, sword in hand, and broke the first line of
the enemy; but the second advancing, and firing on them, they gave way,
leaving, says one who beheld the terrible scene, "many brave fellows on
the spot." The rout, which began on the right of the army, soon became
general. The right line was. in fact, beaten before the centre could
advance to support it: and the centre of the army gave way, whilst the
Macdonalds, who were advancing on the left, seeing themselves abandoned
on the right, and exposed to be flanked by enemies who had nothing to
oppose them in front, retired also.
Lord George Murray
behaved with incomparable valour, as indeed did the whole of the line
which he commanded, which was received by the enemy with bayonets. These
were the more destructive, as the Highlanders would never be at the
trouble, on a march, to carry targets. Yet the Duke's line of battle was
broken in several places, and two pieces of cannon were taken. The brave
troops whom Lord George commanded marched up to the very point of the
bayonets, which they could not see until they were upon them, on account
of the smoke which was driven in their faces. As the first line of the
English army was broken, and as others were brought up to their relief,
some cannon, charged with cartouch shot from their second line, caused
Lord George Murray's horse to start and plunge so much, that he thought
the animal was wounded: he quitted his stirrups, and was thrown. "After
thus being dismounted, I brought up," writes Lord George, "two regiments
of our second line, who gave them fire, but nothing could be done; all
was lost." The only good effect of the reinforceinent was to arrest for
a while the pursuit of the cavalry, and thus to save many lives. The
field of battle was soon abandoned to the fury of an enemy, whose brutal
thirst for vengeance increased as the danger and opposition diminished.
Some may consider that the day of Culloden was a day of disgrace to the
Highlanders; but to them it was an event of honour, compared with the
discredit which it brought upon their foes. To England was the disgrace.
It was, at all events, even if we measure the standard of honour by the
degree of military success, an inglorious victory. Independent of the
inequality of numbers, was the inequality of circumstances; but greater,
in many senses, on this occasion, were the conquered, than their
conquerors.
The Prince, seeing his
army entirely routed, was at length prevailed upon to retire. Most of
his horse soldiers assembled round his person; and he rode leisurely,
and in good order, for the enemy advanced very leisurely over the
ground. "They made," observes Maxwell. "no attack where there was any
body of the Prince's men together, but contented themselves with
sabering such unfortunate people as fell in their way, single and
disarmed." "As the Duke's corps," Lord Elcho relates, "continued to
pursue in order of battle, always firing their cannon and platoons in
advancing, there were not so many people takenor killed as there would
have been had they detached corps to pursue; but every body that fell
into their hands got no quarter, except a few whom they reserved for
public punishment."
In the flight of the
Prince's army, most of the left wing took the road to Inverness; the
right wing crossed the water of Nairn, and went to Ruthven of Badenoch;
the rest, to the number of five hundred, mostly officers, followed the
Prince into Stratherick, where he had stopped about four miles from the
field of Culloden. Of the Prince's conduct after the battle, a very
painful impression is given by Lord Elcho. "As he had taken It into his
head he had been betrayed, and particularly by Lord George Murray, he
seemed very diffident of everybody except the Irish officers; and he
appeared very anxious to know whether he had given them all higher
commissions than they had at their arrival, on purpose that they might
get them confirmed to them upon their return to France. He neither spoke
to any of the Scots' officers present, nor inquired after any of the
absent. Nor. indeed, at any of the preceding battles did he ever inquire
after any of the wounded officers. He appeared very uneasy as long as
the Scots were about him; and in a short time ordered them all to go to
Ruthven of Badenoch, where he would send them orders; but before they
had rode a mile, he sent Mr. Sheridan after them, to tell them that they
might disperse, and everybody shift for himself the best way lie could.
Lord George Murray and Lord John Drummond repeated the same orders to
all the body of the army that had assembled at Ruthven. The Prince kept
with him some of Fitzjames's Horse, and went that night to a house in
the head of Stratherick, where he met Lord Lovat and a great many other
Scots' gentlemen, who advised him not to quit the country, but to stay
and gather together his scattered forces. But he was so prejudiced
against the Scots, that lie was afraid they would give him up to make
their peace with the Government; for some of the Irish were at pains to
relate to him, in very strong terms, how the Scots had already sold his
great-grand-father to the English: and, as he was naturally of a
.suspicious temper, it was not a difficult matter to persuade him of it.
And he always believed it until the fidelity of the Highlanders shown to
him during the long time he was hid in their country, convinced him and
everybody else of the contrary."
This history of distrust
and ingratitude is, however, to be contrasted with very different
statements. When the Prince heard from Colonel Ker, after the battle,
that Lord George Murray had been thrown from his horse, but was not
wounded, Charles, in the presence of all the officers who were assembled
around his person, desired Colonel Ker to find out Lord George, and to
"take particular care of him." Nor was there, among the whole number of
those writers who witnessed the battle of Culloden, a dissentient voice
with regard to the bravery of their Lieutenant-General and to the
admirable disposition of his troops. Had he, like Lord Strathallan.
sought and found his fate upon the field of battle, his memory would
have been exalted into that of a hero.
Two days after the
defeat, the Duke of Perth, the Marquis of Tullibardine, Lord George
Murray, Lord Ogilvie, Lord Xairn, and several other chieftains and
officers met at Ruthven in Badenoch, and discussed the events which had
ended in the ruin of their cause. They were unanimous in concluding that
the night attack, upon which many persons insisted as practicable, could
not have been attempted.
For some time after the
battle, hopes were entertained of an effectual rallying of the forces.
By a letter from one of the Prince's aides-de-camp, Alexander Macleod.
to Clunie Macpherson, on the very day of the battle, it appears that his
party soon hoped, or pretended to hope, "to pay Cumberland back in his
own coin." A review of the fragment of the army was projected at
Fort-Augustus, on the seventeenth of April; and amends were promised to
be made for Culloden. "For God's sake," wrote Mr. Macleod, "make haste
to join us; and bring with you all the people that can possibly be got
together. Take care in particular of Lumisden and Sheridan, as they
carry with them the sinews of war."
To this letter Lord
George Murray added some lines, which prove how hopeless, at that
moment, he considered any project of rallying; and, indeed, even before
the epistle was dispatched to Clunie, the Prince had left Gorteleg, and
taken refuge in "Clanranald's country."
Notwithstanding the
Prince's flight, Lord George Murray, presuming that he could still make
a stand, remained at Ruthven. where a force of between two and three
thousand men was assembled. It was found, however, impossible, from the
want of provisions, to keep such an army together; and, in a few days, a
message from Charles, ordering his ill-fated adherents to disperse,
decided their fate. At this epoch Lord George Murray addressed a letter
to Charles, certainly not calculated to soothe the feelings of the
unfortunate young man, nor to conciliate the bitter spirit which
afterwards, during the lapse of years, never abated towards his former
General. The letter began thus:
"May it please your Royal
Highness,
"As no person in these
Kingdoms ventured more frankly in the cause than myself, and as I had
more at stake than almost ail the others put together, I cannot but be
very deeply affected with our late loss, and present situation; and I
declare, that were your Royal Highness's person in safety, the loss of
the cause, and the unfortunate and unhappy state of my countrymen is the
only thing that grieves me; for I thank God I have resolution to bear my
own family's ruin without a grudge."
After this preface Lord
George, in no softened terms, pointed out what he conceived to be the
causes of the failure of the enterprise; — the imprudence of having set
up the standard without aid from France, the deficiencies and blunders
of Mr. O'Sullivan, whose business it was to reconnoitre the field of
battle, but who had not so much as viewed it before the affair of
Culloden. He next pointed out the negligence, if not treachery, of Mr.
Hay, who had the charge of the provisions. To the disgraceful
mismanagement of this important department might, indeed, the ruin of
the army be traced. "For my own part,' added Lord George, "I never had
any particular discussion with either of them; but I ever thought them
incapable and unfit to serve in the stations they were placed in."
After these too just
remarks, Lord George formally resigned his commission into the Prince's
hands. It had, it appears, been his intention to have done so after the
failure at Blair; but he was dissuaded by his friends. "I hope your
Royal Highness will now accept of my demission. What commands you may
have for me in any other situation, please honour me with them.'"
This letter was dated
from Ruthven, two days after the battle of Culloden. The inference which
has been drawn from it was, that Lord George did not contemplate the
abandonment of the campaign. It appears to have been his opinion that
the Highlanders could have made a summer campaign without any risk,
marching, as they could, through places in which no regular troops could
follow them. They could never starve as long as there were sheep and
cattle in the country; and they might probably have carried on an
offensive, instead of a defensive war. But Charles, disheartened, as men
of over sanguine tempers usually are, in misfortune, to the last degree,
resolved on escaping to France. He addressed a farewell letter to the
Chiefs, and then commenced that long and perilous course of wanderings
in which his character rose to heroism, and which presents one of the
most interesting episodes in history of which our annals can boast.
Lord George Murray was
long a fugitive from place to place in his native country, before he
could find means to escape to the continent. In December (1746) he
visited, in private, his friends in Edinburgh, and then embarking at
Anstruther, in the Frith of Forth, he set sail for Holland. Whether he
ever returned to his native country is doubtful, although it appears,
from a letter among the Stuart papers, that he had it in contemplation,
in order to bring over his wife and family.
His fate in a foreign
land, however embittered by the ingratitude and hatred of Charles
Edward, was cheered by the presence of his wife and children, with the
exception of his eldest son, who was retained in Scotland, and educated
under the auspices of James Duke of Atholl. His first movement after
reaching Holland, was to repair to Rome, there to pay his respects to
the Chevalier St. George, and to unfold to him the motives of his
conduct in the foregoing campaign of 1745. The Chevalier, affectionately
attached as he was to his eldest son, was aware of his defects, and
sensible of the pernicious influence which was exercised over his mind
by the enemies of Lord George Murray; James, who never appears in a more
amiable light than in his correspondence, endeavoured to conciliate both
parties. His letters to Charles Edward, treasured among the Stuart
papers, display kindness and great good sense. His mediation in this
instance was, however, wholly ineffectual. After the treacherous conduct
of Murray of Broughton, the Prince began even to suspect that Lord
George was concerned in the baseness of that individual. This notion was
urgently combated by James; at the same time he recommended the Prince,
not only as a matter of right, but of policy, to conciliate Lord George,
who owned that he had been wrong towards Charles, but insisted upon his
zeal m the Prince's service. "Persons," adds the politic Chevalier,
"like him may do both good and hurt; and it is prudent to manage them,
and would manifestly be of prejudice could they be able to say their
former services had been disregarded." But James addressed himself to
one who could never dissimulate. Whatever Charles's errors might be.
they were not envenomed by any portion of cunning, and no motive of
prudence could soften him towards one whom he unjustly disliked.
Lord George, who expected
no favour from the English Government, was, nevertheless, anxious to be
"near home." He left Rome in May 1747, and after remaining some time at
Bologna, proceeded to Paris. Here Charles was playing that ill-judged
and desperate game, which was better suited to a rash impostor, than to
the acknowledged descendant of a long line of monarchs. Here he was
rapidly effacing the remembrance of the brave and generous wanderer who
trusted to the honesty of the Highlanders; who bore his misfortunes as
if he had been born in that land of heroes.
The first idea of
Charles, upon hearing of Lord George Murray's arrival in Paris, was to
imprison him as a traitor. "I hope in God," writes his father to the
young Prince, "you will not think of getting Lord George sccused after
all I wrote to you about him, and will at least receive him civilly."
But no intercessions could nullify the indignation of Charles towards
his former general.
It was far from Lord
George Murray's intention, if we may believe the Chevalier St. George,
again to embroil himself in public affairs, or even to remain in Paris.
His intention was to live privately in Germany or Flanders, in the hope
of being rejoined by his wife. Upon reaching Paris, he informed the
Prince of his arrival; and proposed paying his respects to him at St.
Omer, where Charles was then living. Late on the evening of the eleventh
of July, 1747, a gentleman, who at first refused to give his name, but
who afterwards announced himself as Mr. Stafford, called on Lord George
to convey to him a message desiring him not to "go near" the Prince, and
ordering him to leave Paris immediately. An answer was returned,
signifying that the Prince's commands should be obeyed. Lord George left
Paris, and he and the unfortunate young man whom he had served, met no
more. It is possible that the irritation of Charles was aggravated by
the recent intelligence of his brother's having become a cardinal: upon
receiving the news of that event he shut himself up for some hours
alone. The name of his brother was no longer to be uttered in his
presence nor his health drunk at table. Charles was at this time in the
power of both the Kellys, who are described by one of his adherents as
"false, ambitious, and sordidly avaricious."
After visiting Poland,
where he was received by Marshall Belriski as a relation, and where he
endeavoured to negotiate the restitution of some crown jewels to James,
as in right of the Chevalier's wife, the Princess Sobieski, Lord George
settled at Cleves. He changed his name to that of De Sfjdignie, and here
he remained in obscurity with his family. "My wife," he writes to the
Chevalier St. George, "came here on the tenth of September, 1748, but
was soon after seized with an intermitting fever, which has not yet left
her. She begs leave to throw herself at your Majesty's feet." In 1750,
Lord George removed to Emmerich, here he wrote an account of his
campaign, which he addressed to Mr Hamilton of Bangour; from this,
repeated extracts have been given m this memoir of his life. The
kindness of James Stuart towards him continued unabated: he recommended
him to the notice of the court of France; and consulted him as to the
probable success of a future enterprise in Scotland. On such a project
Lord George-Murray expressed himself cautiously, yet somewhat
encouragingly; and declared himself ready to shed the last drop of his
blood in the cause. Happily his zeal was not again put to the test. Lord
George appears, in his letters, to have cherished in his retirement at
Emmerick, a lingering hope that at some future day the Stuarts might
make another attempt. He was now in the decline of life, and yearning to
behold again the country which lie was destined to see no more. "How
happily," he writes to Mr Edgar. "should you and I be to sit over a
bottle in Angus, or Perthshire, after a restoration, and talk over old
services. May that soon happen !"
Meantime some members of
Lord George's family suffered the severest distress. His uncle, Lord
Nairn, had, it is true, escaped to France ; but Lady Nairn and her
daughter. Lady Clementina, were reduced to the utmost penury in
Scotland. They remained in their native country, probably with the hope
of saving the wreck of their fortunes, until all that the troops had
spared was sold, and the money which accrued from the sale was
exhausted. Such was the rapacity of the plunderers, that they took even
Lady Nairn's watch and clothes. The Government, although in possession
of her estate, never gave her one farthing for subsistence, but even
made her pay a rent for the garden of one of Lord Nairn's own houses in
which she lived. But this is only one instance of that catalogue of
cruelties towards the Jacobites, which it would take volumes to detail.
In 1751, Lord George
Murray visited Dresden, where, owing to the mediation of James Stuart,
he was well received. His letters at this period refer frequently to the
exertions which he made for Lord Macleod, the son of Lord Cromartie: to
this young man a company was given in Finland, in the Prussian service,
and the Chevalier St. George furnished him with his accoutrements and
equipage.
The eldest son of Lord
George Murray remained, as we hare seen, in Scotland; but the second
was, through the favour of the Chevalier, recommended to the especial
notice of the court of Prussia. The visit of Lord George to Dresden
seems to have been chiefly designed to push the interests of this young
man, who was introduced to the Count and Countess De Bruhl. The youth
was to study the military science and exercises at Dresden, and at the
same time to enjoy, in the house of the Pope's Nuncio, the advantage of
seeing company, and of forming connections.
Having arranged these
affairs, Lord George returned to Emmerich. His wife had left him for
Scotland, in order to be confined there; and this event, attended by so
much inconvenience, and prefaced by a voyage of twelve days, "put her,"
as Lord George observed. "somewhat out of countenance, after
twenty-three years'' marriage. Her return was delayed for some time. "I
shall be pretty lonely this winter (1751), writes Lord George to Mr.
Edgar, for my wife, who was brought to bed of a daughter the middle of
September, recovered but very slowly, and now the season of the year is
too far advanced for her to venture so long a voyage; besides, she has
some thoughts that Lady Sinclair (his daughter) may come with her in the
spring." In his solitude, anxieties about his patrimonial property added
to the sorrows of the exile. "I am told,"' he writes, "that the Duke of
Atholl is desirous of selling the royalty of the Isle of Man to the
London Government, for which, they say, he is offered fifteen thousand
pounds sterling. Had it not been for my situation, I believe lie could
not have done it witliout my consent; but, I'm sorry to say it, and it
is a truth, that he is full as much my enemy as any of that Government.
He has sent my eldest son abroad, but, as I understand, with positive
orders not to see nor correspond with me. All this is the more
extraordinary that, thirty years ago, before he turned courtier, he
seemed to have very different notions. Most people in Britain now regard
neither probity nor any other virtue—all is selfish and vainal (venial).
But how can I coniplain of such hard usage, when my royal master has met
with what is a thousand times more cruel: he bears it like a Christian
hero, and it would ill suit me to repine. I thank the Almighty I never
did, and I think it my greatest honour and glory to suffer m so just and
upright a cause." Hope, however, of one day returning to Scotland, was
not extinct. He thus continues: "Upon receipt of the note you sent me, I
have gott the carabin, for which I return you many thanks. I expect to
kill a wild bore with it; but I fain hope Providence may still order it
that I may make use of it at home, and, if all succeeds to our wishes,
how happy should I think myself to send you, when you returned to Angus,
a good fatt stagg, shott in the forest of Atholl with your own gun."
Until five years before
his death, Lord George still cherished the hope that France would again
find it her interest to support the claims of the Stuarts. He had always
considered that the support of the French would be decisive of the
success of the cause. "Had the ministers of the court of Versailles, ten
years ago, been persuaded that the supporting of his Royal Highness the
Prince, at the beginning of his attempt, in a proper manner with the
best measures they could take for the interest of their master as well
as that of the King our gracious sovereign, I think I do not say too
much if I affirm that his Royal Highness would not have faded of
success. I had at that time opportunities of knowing the sentiments and
way of thinking of most people in Great Britain. Many, very many, wished
well to the cause. Great numbers would have looked on. and would have
turned to the side that had success. But there is no recalling what is
passed. I believe that in France they are convinced now of the error
they were in at the time. If ever they resolve to espouse the cause of
the royal family it must be in earnest, and their main view must be
that. Then there would be no difficulty iff adjusting limits in America.
I have been much longer upon the subject than I intended. Perhaps zeal
has led me too far."
The period was now
approaching when Lord George Murray was to close a life of vicissitude
and turmoil He died in 1760 at Medenblinck, in Holland, leaving three
sons and two daughters. Upon the death of James Duke of Atholl in 1764,
John, the eldest son of Lord George Murray, succeeded to the dukedom,
and to the great possessions of the family. He married his first cousin,
Charlotte, only daughter and heiress of his uncle, the Duke of Atholl;
and in 1765 their Graces sold the sovereignty of the Isle of Man, upon
the disposal of which Lord George Murray had expressed much solicitude,
to the British Government. The present Duke of Atholl, who succeeded his
father in 1830, is the grandson of John, third Duke of Atholl, and the
great-grandson of Lord George Murray. The descendants of this justly
celebrated man have, therefore, shared a happier fortune than those of
many of the other attainted noblemen of his party.
The attainder was not,
however, set aside in favour of the son of Lord George Murray without a
petition to the King, upon which the House of Lords gave a favourable
report, and the objection was overcome Besides his eldest son.
Lord George left two others; James, of Strowan, in right of his mother;
George, of Pitkeathlv, who became Vice-Admiral of the White— and two
daughters; Amelia, first married to Lord Sinclair, and afterwards to
James Farquharson, of Inverness; and Charlotte, who died unmarried.
The mind of Lord George
Murray was one of great original power, and less dependent upon those
circumstances which usually affect the formation of character, than that
of most men. He was determined and inflexible in opinions, yet cautious
in action. That he was sincere and honourable there can now be little
doubt. It was his consciousness of upright intentions which inspired him
with contempt for the littleness of others; and with his love of
superiority, his self-will and ambition, there was wrought a strong
conviction of his own worth, as opposed to the hollowness of some of his
party. Throughout all his letters, and 'n his journal, there is a strong
evidence of his confidence in his own powers; of a self-sufficiency too
lofty to be called vanity, but which sometimes descends to egotism. To
his courage, his energy and perseverance, his military contemporaries
have borne unanimous testimony. They seem entirely to have comprehended
a character which the unfortunate Charles Edward could never appreciate.
They felt the justness of his ascendancy, and discriminated between the
bluntness of an ardent and honest mind, careless of ordinary forms, and
the arrogance of an inferior capacity. As a soldier, indeed, the
qualities of Lord George Murray rose to greatness: so enduring, and so
fearless, so careless of danger to himself, yet so solicitous for
others. As a general, some great defects may be pointed out in his
composition, without detracting from his merits as a private individual.
Let us first turn to the
bright side of the picture. In activity and exertion Lord George Murray
has not been surpassed even by the more fortunate, although, perhaps,
not greater commanders of modern times. He was indefatigable in
business, and any one who desired access to him could see him at any
hour, whether at meals or in bed. "On some occasions,'" he remarks, "I
have been waked six times a night, and had either orders to write, or
letters to answer every time; for as I mostly commanded a separate body
of the army, I had many details that, in a more regular army, would
belong to different people." Every order, even that which sent an
officer to an out-post, was written by his own hand, and explained by
him ; every contingency that might occur in the execution was canvassed,
and every objection that was suggested was answered by himself. The
officers, therefore, confiding ia their general, performed their duties
with cheerfulness, and made their reports with exactness. There was no
confusion, nor misapprehension, wherever Lord George presided. As a
disciplinarian, he was pre-eminent; no army ever quitted a country with
so little odium, nor left behind them such slight memorials of their
march, as that of Charles Edward when it returned from Derby. The
greatest excess that the Highlanders were known to commit was the
seizing horses to carry their baggage, or to carry their sick :—and
these it was Lord George's endeavour always to restore, even at a great
inconvenience to the soldiers. Even with every precaution it was
impossible wholly to restrain plundering, although the General undertook
in person to control that evil. "How often,'" he writes, "have I gone
into houses on our marches to drive the men out of them, and drubbed
them heartily.
This able man possessed
another great requisite as a commander. He thoroughly understood his
materials, he was perfectly acquainted with the temper and disposition
of his soldiers. It was the attribute which made. Marlborough
unconquerable ; and, in an army chiefly of Highlanders, it was one of
the greatest value. By this Lord George acquired over the members of
every respective Clan as much influence as each Chief separately had.
His corrections were well applied, and never lessened the confidence nor
affections of the soldiery, From the highest to the lowest, the men and
officers had a confidence >n him, which induced them to apply to him for
redress in grievances, and to consider him as an umpire 'n disputes.
But Lord George was not
only a disciplinarian; in his own person, he set the example of a
scrupulous honesty. "I never," he writes in his explanation of his
conduct, "took the least thing without paying the full value. I thought
that I could not reasonably find fault with others in that, if I did not
show them a good example."
To the sick and wounded
Lord George invariably paid the utmost attention; and, under his
guidance, the Highlanders, heretofore so fierce towards each other in
their contests, were remarkable for a degree of humanity which was
disgracefully contrasted with the barbarity of their conquerors. Such
were his general attributes in his military station. Whatever doubts may
have existed in the mind of Charles Edward as to the fidelity of his
General, are silenced by the long and hopeless exile of Lord George
Murray, and by the continued friendship of the Chevalier St. George. No
overtures, as in the case of the Earl of Mar, to the British Government,
nor efforts on the part of his prosperous and favoured brother, the Duke
of Atholl, have transpired to show that in saving Blair, there was a
secret understanding that there should be a future reward, nor that any
surmise of treachery had opened a door to reconciliation. Charles, be it
remembered, was under that daily, hourly influence, which weakens the
judgment, and exasperates the passions. His opinion of Lord George
Murray must not be accepted as any evidence against one who had redeemed
the Inconsistencies of his youth by the great exertions of his manhood.
Some vital defects there
were, nevertheless, in this General, of powerful intellect and of
earnest and honourable intentions. His character partook too largely of
that quality which has raised his country as a nation in all other
countries, prudence. For his peculiar situation he was far too cautious.
Persevering and inflexible, he was destitute of hope. If it be true,
that he entered into the undertaking with a conviction that the cause
could never prosper, he was the last man that should have been the
general of an army whose ardour, when not engaged in action, he
invariably restrained. All contending opinions seem to hesitate and to
falter when they relate to the retreat from Derby, the grand error of
the enterprise ; the fatal step, when the tide served, and the wind was
propitious, and an opportunity never to be regained, was for ever lost.
In private society, Lord
George Murray is reported to have been overbearing and hasty; his fine
person, and handsome countenance were lessened iu their agreeableness by
a haughty deportment. He was simple, temperate, and self-denying in his
habits. In his relations of life, he appears to have been respectable.
His letters show him to have enjoyed, at least, the usual means of
education offered to a soldier, who entered upon active service at
sixteen, or to have improved his own acquirements. They are clear and
explicit, and bear the impress of sincerity and good sense.
Distrusted as he was by
Charles Edward, and misrepresented by others, we may accord to Lord
George Murray the indulgence which he claims from posterity in these,
the last words of his vindication:—
"Upon the whole, I shall
conclude with saying, If I did not do all the good I would, I am sure I
did all I could." |