The Life of Thomas Telford, Civil Engineer: With an Introductory History of Roads and Travelling in Great BritainSmiles, Samuel
History
The Life of Thomas Telford, Civil Engineer: With an Introductory History of Roads and Travelling in Great Britain
Smiles, Samuel
Civil engineers -- Great Britain -- Biography; Roads -- Great Britain; Telford, Thomas, 1757-1834
Next day the army marched for Hexham; But the rebels having already
passed southward, General Wade retraced. his steps to Newcastle to
gain the high road leading to Yorkshire, whither he marched in all
haste; and for a time his army lay before Leeds on fields now
covered with streets, some of which still bear the names of
Wade-lane, Camp-road, and Camp-field, in consequence of the event.
On the retreat of Prince Charles from Derby, General Wade again
proceeded to Newcastle, while the Duke of Cumberland hung upon the
rear of the rebels along their line of retreat by Penrith and
Carlisle. Wade's army proceeded by forced marches into Scotland,
and at length came up with the Highlanders at Falkirk. Metcalf
continued with Captain Thornton and his company throughout all
these marchings and countermarchings, determined to be of service
to his master if he could, and at all events to see the end of the
campaign. At the battle of Falkirk he played his company to the
field; but it was a grossly-mismanaged battle on the part of the
Royalist General, and the result was a total defeat. Twenty of
Thornton's men were made prisoners, with the lieutenant and
ensign. The Captain himself only escaped by taking refuge in a
poor woman's house in the town of Falkirk, where he lay hidden for
many days; Metcalf returning to Edinburgh with the rest of the
defeated army.
Some of the Dragoon officers, hearing of Jack's escape, sent for
him to head-quarters at Holyrood, to question him about his
Captain. One of them took occasion to speak ironically of
Thornton's men, and asked Metcalf how he had contrived to escape.
"Oh!" said Jack, "I found it easy to follow the sound of the
Dragoons' horses-- they made such a clatter over the stones when
flying from the Highlandmen. Another asked him how he, a blind
man, durst venture upon such a service; to which Metcalf replied,
that had he possessed a pair of good eyes, perhaps he would not
have come there to risk the loss of them by gunpowder. No more
questions were asked, and Jack withdrew; but he was not satisfied
about the disappearance of Captain Thornton, and determined on
going back to Falkirk, within the enemy's lines, to get news of
him, and perhaps to rescue him, if that were still possible.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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