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Among the Lowland Jacobites who displayed the greatest zeal
on the present occasion, was Lord Ogilvy, eldest son of the Earl of Airly, who joined the
prince at Edinburgh on the 3d October with a regiment of 600 men, chiefly from the county
of Forfar, where his father's estates were situated. Most of the officers of the regiment
were either of the Airly family, or bore the name of Ogilvy. Lord Ogilvy was followed by
old Gordon of Glenbucket, an equally zealous supporter of the Stuarts, who arrived at
Edinburgh next day with a body of 400 men, which he had collected in Strathdon,
Strathaven, Glenlivet, and Auchindoun. Glenbucket had been a major-general in Mar's army,
in 1715; but he now contented himself with the colonely of the regiment he had just
raised, of which he made his eldest son lieutenant-colonel, and his younger sons captains,
while the other commissions were held by his relations or personal friends. On the 9th of
October, Lord Pitsligo also joined the prince. He was accompanied by a considerable number
of gentlemen from the counties of Aberdeen and Banff, with their servants, all well armed
and mounted. These formed an excellent corps of cavalry. He also brought with him a small
body of infantry. Lord Pitsligo, though possessed of a moderate fortune, had great
influence with the gentlemen of the counties above named, by whom he was beloved and
greatly esteemed, and having great reliance on his judgement and discretion, they did not
hesitate, when he declared himself in favour of the prince, to put themselves under his
command.
Having been informed that there were many persons, who, from infirmity and other causes,
were unable to join him, but were disposed to assist him with money, horses and arms, the
Chevalier issued a proclamation on the 8th of October, calling upon all such persons to
send such supplies to his secretary; and as an order had been issued, summoning the
parliament to meet on the 17th, he, by another proclamation dated the 9th, prohibited all
peers and commoners from paying obedience to any order or resolution that might be
published in the name of either house, in case they should meet.
On the 10th of October, Charles issued a second rather spirited manifesto, justifying the
step he had taken, proclaiming his father's gracious intention to redress every grievance,
including the repeal of the union, endeavouring to show that the government of the Elector
of Hanover was a grievous tyranny supported by foreign mercenaries. It concluded thus:-
"Let him send of his foreign hirelings, and put the whole upon the issue of a battle;
I will trust only to the king my father's subjects, who were, or shall be, engaged in mine
and their country's cause. But notwithstanding all the opposition he can make, I still
trust in the justice of my cause, the valour of my troops, and the assistance of the
Almighty, to bring my enterprise to a glorious issue.
"It is now time to conclude, and I shall do it with this reflection; civil wars are
ever attended with rancour and ill-will, which party-rage never fails to produce in the
minds of those whom different interests, principals, or views, set in opposition to one
another: I therefore earnestly require it of my friends, to give as little loose as
possible to such passions: this will prove the most effectual means to prevent the same in
the enemies of our royal cause. And this my declaration will vindicate to all posterity
the nobleness of my undertaking, and the generosity of my intentions".
During Charles's stay in Edinburgh the magisterial authority was in complete abeyance, and
thieves and robbers, no longer restrained by the arm of power, stalked about, in open day,
following their vocation. Under pretence of searching for arms, predatory bands, wearing
white cockades and the Highland dress, perambulated the country, imposing upon and robbing
the people. One of the most noted of these was headed by one James Ratcliffe, the same
individual who figures so conspicuously in the Heart of Mid-Lothian, and who, having spent
all his life in the commission of acts of robbery, had twice received sentence of death,
but had contrived to effect his escape from jail. To suppress these and other acts of
violence, Charles issued several edicts, and in one or two instances the last penalty of
the law was inflicted by his orders upon the culprits.
Early in October a ship from France arrived at Montrose with some arms and ammunition and
a small sum of money. On board this vessel was the Marquis Boyer d'Eguille, who arrived at
Holyrood house on the 14th of October. The object of his journey was not exactly known,
but his arrival was represented as a matter of great importance, and he was passed off as
an ambassador from the French court. This vessel was soon followed by two others in
succession, one of which brought, in addition to a supply of arms and money, some Irish
officers in the service of France. The other had on board six field-pieces and a company
of artillerymen. These succours, though small, were opportune, and were considered as an
earnest of more substantial ones, of which d'Eguille gave the prince the strongest
assurances. To facilitate and shorten the conveyance of arms and cannon, and of the
reinforcements still expected from the north, batteries were raised at Alloa
and on the immediately opposite
side of the Frith of Forth, across which these were transported without any annoyance,
although the Fox, a British man-of-war, was stationed in the Frith.
The army of the prince continued to increase by the arrival of several additional
detachments from the north, and before the end of October he found that his forces
amounted to nearly 6,000 men; but this number was far below what Charles had expected. He
had entertained hopes that by the exertions of Lord Lovat and other chiefs, whom he
expected to declare in his favour, about triple that number would have been raised; but a
messenger who arrived at Edinburgh from his lordship, brought him intelligence which
rendered his expectations less sanguine. Lovat had calculated the he would be able to
raise by his own influence a force of 4,000 or 5,000 men for the service of Charles; and,
better to conceal his design, he opened a correspondence with President Forbes, in which,
with his characteristic duplicity and cunning, he avowed himself a warm supporter of the
government, and succeeded for a considerable time in throwing the president off his guard.
By degrees, however his real intentions began to develop themselves, and after the battle
of Preston he resolved to assemble his clan for the purpose of joining the prince. To
deceive the government he compelled his son, (afterwards known as General Fraser), a youth
of eighteen who had been pursuing his studies at the university of St. Andrews, to put
himself at the head of the clan, and afterwards pretended that his son had, by this
proceeding, acted in direct opposition to his orders. The only force raised south of the
Tay was a regiment of 450 men which Colonel Roy Stewart formed in Edinburgh during the
stay of the Highland army; for, although the prince was joined at Edinburgh by the Earls
of Kilmarnock and Kellie, Lord Balmerino, Maxwell of Kirkconnel, and other south-country
gentlemen, they did not bring as many men along with them as would have formed the staff
of a company. |
