"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.[134] 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 had
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."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account