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Meanwhile, the Highland army was proceeding in its march to
Inverness. After remaining a few days at Blair-Athole, Charles marched to Ruthven
in Badenoch, the barrack of which was taken
and blown up by a party under Gordon of Glenbucket, who made the small garrison prisoners.
He reached Moy castle, a seat of the laird of Mackintosh, about ten miles from Inverness,
on the 16th of February, with an advanced guard of about 50 men. As Charles's forces were
widely scattered, he resolved to halt at Moy till he should concentrate a force sufficient
to attack the Earl of Louden, who was posted at Inverness with 2,000 men.
Hearing of Charles's arrival at Moy castle, and that he had not above 500 or 600 men with
him, Lord Louden formed a design to seize him during the night while off his guard. The
better to conceal his project, his lordship, at three o'clock in the afternoon, completely
invested Inverness on all sides, posting guards and a chain of sentinels round the town,
with positive orders not to suffer any person to leave it on any pretext whatever. He
ordered, at the same time, 1,500 men to hold themselves in readiness to march at a
moment's warning; and, having assembled them without noise, he put himself at their head,
and instantly set off, planning his march so as he might arrive at the castle of Moy about
eleven o'clock at night.
Notwithstanding the secrecy, however, with which Lord Loudon concocted his scheme, the
plan was divulged by the imprudence or perfidy of some persons intrusted with the secret.
According to one account (for there are several), the design was communicated to Lady
Mackintosh, a zealous Jacobite, by Fraser of Gorthleck, in a letter which he sent to her,
and in another letter which he sent to her, and in another letter which she received at
the same time from her mother, who, though a Whig, felt a repugnance to allow Charles to
be made a prisoner in her daughter's house, in which he had taken up his residence as a
guest. Another account is, that while some English officers were drinking in a tavern in
Inverness, waiting the hour of their departure, a girl of thirteen or fourteen years of
age, who happened to wait on them, paid great attention to their conversation, and, from
certain expressions dropped by them, discovered their design, - that she immediately left
the house, escaped from the town, notwithstanding the vigilance of the sentinels, and
immediately took the road to Moy, running as fast as she was able, without shoes or
stockings, which, to accelerate he progress, she had taken off, - and that on arriving she
informed Lady Mackintosh of the design against the prince. The Jacobite Memoirs, however,
have furnished a third version of this affair, which appears to be more correct in
details. It is there stated that Lady Mackintosh's mother, who lived in Inverness, having
received notice of Lord Loudon's design, despatched a boy, about fifteen years of age,
named Lauchlan Mackintosh, to Moy, to apprise the prince thereof, - that the boy, finding
he could not pass by Lord Loundon's men without running the risk of being discovered,
concealed himself behind a wall till they had passed, when, taking a different road, he
reached Moy and have the alarm. The prince, who was in bed, was instantly awakened, and,
jumping out, put on his clothes, left the house with a guard of about thirty men, and
disappeared in a neighbouring wood.
As soon as Lady Mackintosh was informed of Lord Loudon's design, she sent five or six of
her people, headed by a country blacksmith, named Fraser, to watch the advance of Loudon's
troops. This man, with a boldness almost incredible, formed the extraordinary design of
surprising the advancing party, in the expectation that they would fall prey to a panic.
With this in view, he posted his men on both sides of the road to Inverness, about three
miles from Moy, and enjoined them not to fire till he should give directions, and then not
to fire together, but one after the other, in the order he pointed out. After waiting for
some time, the party was apprised of the advance of Lord Loudon's troops by the noise they
made in marching. When the head of the detachment, which consisted of 70 men under the
laird of Macleod, was within hearing, the blacksmith called out with a loud voice,
"Here come the villains who intend to carry off our prince; fire, my lads; do not
spare them; give them no quarter". He thereupon discharged his piece in the direction
of the detachment, and his party, after following his example, ran in different
directions, calling upon the Macdonalds and Camerons to advance on the right and left, and
repeating aloud the names of Lochiel and Keppoch. Impressed with the belief that the whole
Highland army was at hand, the advanced guard instantly turned its back, and communicating
its fears to the rear, a scene of indescribable confusion ensued. The sauve-qui-peut which
burst forth from the discomfited legions of Napoleon on the plains of Waterloo, was not
more appalling to the flying French than were the names of the Camerons and Macdonalds to
the ears of Lord Loudon's troops on the present occasion. In the hurry of their flight
many were thrown down and trodden upon, and so great was the panic with which the
fugitives were seized, that the flight continued till they got near Inverness. The Master
of Ross, who accompanied the party, and was one of those who were overwhelmed, observed to
Mr Home, that he had been in many perils, but had never found himself in such a grievous
condition as that in which he was at the rout of Moy. In this affair the laird of
Macleod's piper, reputed the best in Scotland, was shot dead on the spot. On the
dispersion of Lord Loudon's party, Charles returned to the castle. |
