The THIRTEENTH Dragoons were stationed in Scotland when the rebellion, headed by Charles Edward, eldest son of the Pretender, broke out in that country in the summer of 1745, and they were ordered to take post at Stirling, from whence Lieut.-General Sir John Cope, the commander-in-chief in Scotland, advanced with a small force into the Highlands, but he was unable to stop the progress of the numerous bands of mountaineers which had joined the Pretender's standard, and he embarked with some infantry from Aberdeen for Leith. When the rebel army advanced to cross the Firth, the THIRTEENTH Dragoons moved to Falkirk, and their commanding officer, Colonel Gardiner, was desirous of being reinforced by other troops, in order to be enabled to make some effectual opposition; but he was suddenly ordered to proceed with his own and Hamilton's (fourteenth) dragoons, by forced marches, to Dunbar, to join Sir John Cope. This hasty retreat before an enemy which the soldiers were desirous of attacking, produced a bad effect on the minds of the men, and they were further disheartened by hearing that the rebels had gained possession of Edinburgh, towards which city they were directed to advance. The young Pretender put the clans in motion to meet the king's troops, who were not half so numerous as their opponents; and on the 20th of September the two armies confronted each other near the village of _Preston-pans_, seven miles from Edinburgh. When the THIRTEENTH Dragoons had formed in line, Colonel Gardiner rode along the ranks and addressed the men in the most animated manner; the soldiers desired to be led against the enemy, and Colonel Gardiner suggested to Sir John Cope the advantages which would probably result from an immediate attack on the insurgent bands; but a defensive plan was adopted, which proved another source of discouragement to the dragoons[1].