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But this success

relief of that place, and raised the siege. was more than balanced by that of lord Lewis Gordon, who surprised and routed the laird of Macleod, and Monro of Culcairn, at Inverury, and obliged them to repass the Spey: so that the rebels were now masters of the whole country, from that river to the Frith of Forth, and every where imposed contributions on the inhabitants, and seized the royal

revenue.

Meanwhile, the pretender, on leaving England, understanding that Edinburgh was secured by a fresh army, had proceeded by the way of Dumfries to Glasgow, and imposed a heavy contribution on that loyal city. After making a hasty, but oppressive tour through the neighbouring country, he directed his march to Stirling, where he was joined by the French troops, under lord John Drummond; by the Frasers, under the master of Lovat; and by lord Lewis Gordon and his victorious followers. It was now resolved to invest that town and castle; the latter being of great importance, by commanding the bridges over the river Forth. A. D. 1746. The town, which is almost naked and defenceJANUARY 8. less, surrendered as soon as a battery was opened against it; but the castle, defended by a good garrison, under the command of General Blakeney, still held out, and continued to baffle all the attempts of the rebels.

The taking of the town of Stirling was, therefore, in itself, an event of little moment. Yet, when connected with the miraculous escape of the pretender from two royal armies, and the great increase of his adherents during his bold expedition to the southern part of the kingdom, it served to occasion fresh alarm in England; especially as it was considered as a prelude to the reduction of the citadel, the key of the communication between the north and south of Scotland. Nothing was thought impossible for Charles and his sturdy Highlanders, who seemed to be at once invulnerable, and proof against the rage of the elements.

General

General Hawley, an experienced officer, who had been appointed commander in chief of the forces in Scotland, in the room of sir John Cope, was ordered instantly to assemble an army, and proceed to the relief of Stirling castle. Hawley, who was naturally brave, confident, and even presumptuous, having under him major-general Huske, brigadier Cholmondeley, brigadier Mordaunt, and several other officers of distinction, advanced accordingly to Falkirk at the head of near ten thousand men, beside the Argyleshire Highlanders and Glasgow volunteers; and having a contemptible idea of the rebels, whom he had boasted he would drive from one end of the kingdom to the other, with two regiments of dragoons, he gave himself little trouble to inquire after their numbers or disposition.

men, and lay concealed in Torwood.

JAN. 17.

The pretender's army consisted of about eight thousand Informed that the enemy were in motion in order to take possession of some rising grounds in the neighbourhood of his camp, Hawley commanded his cavalry to cut them in pieces. But the event proved very different from what he expected. The horse being suddenly broken, recoiled upon the foot, and a total route ensued. Abandoning their tents, with part of their artillery and baggage, the king's forces retired in confusion to Edinburgh, after attempting in vain to make a stand at Falkirk. They left upon the field of battle near five hundred slain, among whom were an unusual number of officers, and about three hundred prisoners fell into the hands of the rebels.

Had the victorious Charles, during the consternation occasioned by this second blow, again boldly entered England, he might possibly have taken up his winter-quarters in the capital; or had he marched with the main body of his army toward Inverness, he might have crushed the earl of Loudon, disarmed the loyal clans, doubled the number of his adherents, and made himself absolute master of all the North

18. Contin. of Rapin, vol. ix. Smollett, vol. xi.

of

of Scotland. But his heart being set on the reduction of Stirling castle, he lost sight of every other object. He therefore returned to the siege of that fortress; and, after having in vain attempted to carry it by assault, the mode of attack most agreeable to his followers, and for which they were best adapted, he obstinately persisted in erecting batteries, in opening trenches, and making regular approaches, in the depth of winter, to the great dissatisfaction of the Highlanders, many of whom retired in disgust to their native mountains.

While the pretender was thus wasting his time, and breaking the spirit of his adherents, in these fruitless, impolitic and ill-conducted operations, the nation recovered from that panic into which it had been thrown by the rout at Falkirk. The royal army in Scotland was reinforced with a body of fresh troops. William, duke of Cumberland, was appointed to command it; and the affairs of government soon began to wear a new face. Though unsuccessful in Flanders, and considered by professional men as no great master in the military art, the duke of Cumberland was adored by the soldiery. And the appearance of a prince of the blood, it was hoped, would at once intimidate the rebels, and encourage the king's troops.

Experience proved this conjecture to be well founded. On the arrival of the duke of Cumberland at Edinburgh, he was received with the warmest expressions of joy, and welcomed as a deliverer by the loyal party. The presbyterian preachers went yet farther: they represented him as a saviour sent of God, for the protection of his chosen people, and to take vengeance on his father's enemies. Firmness and confidence every where took place of irresolution and despondency; and such of the jacobites as had not yet taken up arms, foreseeing the ruin of their prince's cause, remained quiet.

As soon as William had collected his army, amounting to about fourteen thousand horse and foot, he advanced toward

the

the enemy. Charles at first seemed disposed to hazard a battle. But the Highlanders being much fatigued and disgusted with the siege of Stirling-castle, upon which they could make no impression, and in the different attacks on which they had lost a number of men, the pretender resolved, by the advice of his most experienced officers, to abandon all his posts on this side of the Spey, and proceed northward, as a fugitive instead of a conqueror. He was able, however, to make himself master of Inverness, fort George, and fort Augustus: and to oblige the earl of Loudon to take refuge in the isle of Skie. In a word, his present success shewed what he might have done, had he taken this route during his good fortune, when every heart was big with hope. The well-affected clans, as they were called, who now made but a feeble resistance, would then have joined him almost to a man: and many persons of distinction, who still wore the mask of loyalty, would have repaired to his standard. But impolitic as Charles had been, he was yet formidable; and a more perfect knowledge of the advantages of his situation was only perhaps necessary to have enabled him to repel all the efforts of his competitor.

In the meantime, the duke of Cumberland being joined by six thousand Hessians, that had been landed at Leith19, soon after his departure from Edinburgh, left two battalions in Stirling, four in Perth, and proceeded to Aberdeen with the main body of his army. During his stay there, he was indefatigable in exercising his troops, notwithstanding the rigour of the season, and in providing for the security of the country; and as soon as the weather would APRIL 8. permit, he assembled his forces and began his march for Inverness, where the rebels had established their

19. These troops were sent over from Flanders to replace the six thousand Dutch auxiliaries, which France insisted should be recalled, as part of the reduced garrison of Tournay; and rendered incapable, by the articles of capitulation, of serving against his most Christian majesty, or his allies, for eighteen months.

VOL. V.

Z

head.

head-quarters. Contrary to all expectation, he was permitted to pass the deep and rapid river Spey without opposition, though about three thousand Highlanders appeared on the northern side, and the banks were steep and difficult of ascent. It was not timidity, however, but the presumptuousness of their leaders, that restrained the rebels from disputing the passage with the royal army; a resolution having been taken in a council of war, in spite of many sound arguments to the contrary, to leave the fords of the Spey open; and for this very extraordinary reason, that the greater number of the king's troops that should pass the river, the fewer would escape, as the sanguine adherents of Charles entertained no doubt of being able to cut off the whole.

Romantic, however, as this idea appears, and unwise as is the maxim on which it was founded, it might possibly have been realized, had the pretender afterward followed the advice of the more cool and experienced Highland chieftains. Had he resolved to act only on the defensive, and continued to retire northward, disputing every defile with his pursuers, until he had led the royal army into mountains, where its cavalry could not subsist, and whither its artillery, ammunition, provision, and baggage-waggons could not be drawn, he might at least have obliged the duke of Cumberland to retire in his turn; especially as the Highlanders from their knowledge of the country, the friendly disposition of the inhabitants, the number of live cattle, and their own spare diet, could there have found subsistence for a considerable time. And the glory connected with the retreat of the king's troops, independent of every other advantage which might have resulted from such a line of conduct, would have been of infinite service to the pretender's cause.

But Charles, who had imbibed, from his hot-headed Irish adherents, false notions of military honour, thought it would be disgraceful to retire any further before his antagonist. He therefore determined to hazard an engagement; though the royal army was not only, in all respects, better appoint

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