Dictionary of Battles / From the Earliest Date to the Present Time

by Thomas Benfield Harbottle

Prestonpans (Rebellion of the Forty-five).

Fought September 21, 1745, between 2,300 Royal troops, under Sir John Cope, and a slightly superior force of Jacobites, under the Young Pretender. Cope's infantry failed to stand up against the charge of the Highlanders, and fled in confusion, losing heavily in killed and wounded, and 1,600 prisoners, including 70 officers. The Highlanders lost about 140 killed and wounded. This action is also known as the Battle of Gladsmuir.