Cassell's History of England, Vol. 4 (of 8): From the Fall of Marlborough to the Peninsular WarAnonymous
History
Cassell's History of England, Vol. 4 (of 8): From the Fall of Marlborough to the Peninsular War
Anonymous
Great Britain -- History
The news of the invasion brought George from Hanover. He arrived in
London on the last day of August, by which time the Young Pretender
had already been entertained by Lord Tullibardine at Blair Castle;
but he seemed to feel no great alarm. He thought the forces of Cope
were sufficient to compete with the insurgents, and Lord Granville and
his party did their best to confirm him in this opinion. On the 20th
of September three battalions of the expected Dutch forces landed,
and received orders to march north. But what contributed more than
anything to the security of the kingdom was the activity of the fleet.
The seamen all round the coasts showed as much spirit and life as the
soldiers had shown cowardice. Privateers as well as men-of-war vied
with one another in performing feats of bravery. A small ship off
Bristol took a large Spanish ship, bound for Scotland, with arms and
money. Another small ship took the _Soleil_, from Dunkirk, carrying
twenty French officers and sixty men, to Montrose; and a small squadron
of privateers, which volunteered to serve under a brave naval captain,
took a vast number of French vessels, and drove still more upon their
own shores. Charles's younger brother, Henry, was waiting to bring
over the Irish regiments to his aid, but Louis would not hazard their
appearance at sea in the face of such a dangerous fleet. Charles made
an attempt to corrupt Captain Beavor, of the _Fox_ man-of-war, by
offering him splendid rewards in case of his success, but the gallant
officer sent him word that he only treated with principals, and that,
if he would come on board, he would talk with him.
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