McLeod, Culkairn, and all the officers with the few men they had in town got together very resolutely, and all of them discovered a great deal of courage on this occasion, nay, to think at all of standing against such superior numbers bespoke no little bravery. And indeed had they thought of sending down a party to line the Church yard of Inverury, and had others rightly posted on a little hull, called the Bass, both which were within a pistol shot of the Boat and Ford of Ury where the Main body behoved to pass, and also on the Ford of Don where Avachy, etc., passed, they certainly had done great execution among them in their passages, and if they had not stopped them altogether, would at least have retarded them till the men that were canton’d at a distance had got up to their assistance, for the Rebels had no cannon, but two old rusty ones they had taken from ships, which got not up till long after the skirmish was over, and though they had, would not probably have done great execution. But the confusion and surprise of the McLeods at the unexpected coming of the enemy made them neglect all these advantages, and stand on the Rigs on the east side at the south end of the town, at almost an equal distance from the Foords of Don and Ury, but at so great a distance as to be able to do execution at neither; and their standing here too was probably not a little owing to their then discovering the other body of the enemy coming upon the other side of Don, which made them irresolute how to dispose of themselves till so many of the Rebels crossed the Ury as put it out of their power to stop their passage there. It was also a vast loss to these Highlanders, who were none of them disciplined, that they had only firelocks and bayonets, and wanted their darling weapon, the Broadsword, which is always their chief confidence. _Rebels pass the Foords_ The van of the Rebels’ main body consisted of the French and some picked men and was lead only by Major Cuthbert, these with all the gentlemen, the volunteers, and some of the common men crossed the Ury, very alertly, and as they passed, drew up behind the Bass, and the Churchyard. But many of their common men ran off and skulked by dike-sides till the action was over and could neither be brought out by threats nor entreaties till then. Major Gordon and Avachy with about 50 or 60 of their men crossed the Don very briskly, and behaved well, but the rest of the Corps took shelter among the Broom, till they saw the event.