A Narrative[190] given me by Mr. Alexander Murray, Printer, in Burnet's Close, Edinburgh.
July.
About the beginning of July 1746 one Garnet, a dragoon in Lord Mark Ker's regiment, and son of one Garnet, a printer at Sheffield, came to the printing house of William Sands and Company at Edinburgh, and having been asked several questions in relation to the battle of Culloden, said: That he himself was engaged there; that the orders they received were To make no prisoners: That the reason of this severity was that the Duke had got notice before the armies were engaged that the rebels had given orders—To kill men, women, and children of their enemies, without distinction, for eight days [fol. 422.] after the battle, in case victory should declare for them; that he himself went to the field of battle the day after the engagement in the forenoon; that on coming near it, he heard a doleful noise; that on coming to the place he found that the noise he had heard was several of the wounded rebels who had crawled together were bemoaning one another's condition; that in a short while after he saw some small parties of the king's troops with officers on their head go through the field and shoot the wounded rebels; that six or eight of the soldiers fired together at different rebels, but did not receive the word of command from their officers, though they stood by and saw the service performed; that they went thro' the field thus; that some of the rebels seemed pleased to be relieved of their pain by death, while others begged of the soldiers to spare them, which, however, was no ways regarded; that the soldiers employed in this service were foot, so that he himself was only a spectator; that soldiers went, a day or two after to the field and did the [fol. 423.] like; that such severity would not have been exercised against a foreign enemy, and that at this time the French were treated with great humanity, as they are said to be remarkably human when conquerors; and that a written order was said to be found in the pocket of one of the rebels after the battle agreeing with the accounts above mentioned which the Duke had received before the engagement. This dragoon who named and designed himself as above seemed to be a discreet, ingenuous man.
Edinburgh, October 30th, 1746.
30 Oct. 1746
An officer of the Broadalbine Militia (who was among those who made openings in the stone walls, through which the dragoons passed) being told the above, did not believe it, and gave as his reason that a præmium having been given for every gun and sword brought to the king's camp after the battle, the men under his command were so busied in carrying guns and swords from the field of battle to the camp that he could scarcely keep a sufficient number of them to do duty, and yet [fol. 424.] he never heard of the rebels being thus killed in cold blood, which, being a thing very uncommon, he thought his men could not miss to observe and to tell him of it. This gentleman added, that he heard at that time of the order of the rebels for giving no quarter; that a particular serjeant in certain regiment was said to have it; that he asked it of him, but was answered he heard another serjeant had it, and went to two or three thus, and always found less reason to believe there ever was any such order.
8 Oct. 1747