Origins of the 'Forty-five : $b and other papers relating to that rising
History
Origins of the 'Forty-five : $b and other papers relating to that rising
Jacobite Rebellion, 1745-1746
But what was the cause of the quarrel betwixt him and Lord George
Murray, I know not; as Lord Balmerino did not ever directly inform us
why he was treated after that manner: only I remember, His Lordship,
when he saw himself so apparently ill-used, frequently addressed his
corps as follows. ‘Come let us do as we are ordered! It is in vain to
dispute; a time will come when I shall see all these things righted,
and that too at Lord George’s cost or mine. But at present he is my
superior, and we must obey as we tender the good of the Prince.’ With
such soothing expressions has he often accosted us, when some were
mutinying. And certainly he suffered a great deal from Lord George,
for, to my knowledge, we have been ordered twenty or thirty miles,
harassed and fatigued, and a courier sent after us, ordering us
immediately to return without halting--saying it was my Lord George
Murray’s orders.[426] And now a harder time than ever came upon us,
for I can safely say and prove, that from the time of Falkirk Affair
to the Battle of Culloden, notwithstanding the fatigue of the day, I
scarce slept three nights out of seven in bed.
And now having been some time before Stirling Castle, news arrived
from Edinburgh, that Cumberland was come thither with an intention to
rally General Hawley’s army and attack us again. As our number had
been so much diminished by the desertion of those who after the battle
of Falkirk had gone home loaded with plunder; it was judged expedient
for us to retire higher into the country, where we were sure of being
joined by some more forces. Accordingly we had orders to proceed on
our march; and on the morning on which we began it, the Prince to St.
Ringin,[427] distant about half a mile from Stirling, to give the
necessary directions for quitting the town and raising the siege;
which being done, we retired again, and when at a short distance,
we were surprized with a hideous noise just behind us; and upon the
Prince’s sending back to inquire what it was, it was found to be a
church blown up, just upon the place where a few minutes before we had
been standing. This church had been converted into a magazine for our
gun-powder, which by some accident had been set on fire, and several
of the town’s-people and of our soldiers were killed by the explosion.
However, continuing our march, we arrived that night at _Crieff_ a
little town in the Highlands; and the Prince lodged at Drummond Castle,
the residence of the illustrious Duke of Perth, which was only a short
distance from the said town. And now it was judged proper for the army
to separate; accordingly the Prince went the Highland way with the
Highlanders and prisoners for Inverness; and the Horse and Lowland
Regiments the Low-Country Road by the Sea-Coast, which was much
longer, so that it was three or four weeks before we again formed a
junction.
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