Morgan was the author of a rather dull satirical political poem of 630 verses, entitled The Country Bard or the Modern Courtiers, inscribed to H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, a quarto originally printed in 1741, and republished in 1746 after his execution. It is prefaced by a dedicatory letter to Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, the Welsh Jacobite baronet. In his dying declaration, handed to the sheriff on the scaffold, Morgan writes that he is a member of the Church of England, and that he has fully set forth his faith in a poem of two books entitled The Christian Test or the Coalition of Faith and Reason, the first of which he had already published, and the latter he bequeathed to his daughter to be published by her. Morgan seems to have had a certain notoriety as member of a Jacobite club at Westminster, judging by a very coarse jeu d’esprit bearing the title A Faithful Narrative of the wonderful and surprising Appearance of Counsellor Morgan’s ghost at the meeting ... giving a full and true Account of the Behaviour of the Club on that occasion.... This folio, for it has that dignity, is followed by another entitled An Appeal from the late David Morgan, Esq., Barrister-at-Law ... against a late Scurrilous Paper.... My copy of the second pamphlet bears the note in contemporary handwriting ‘By one Fielding a concealer of the Law,’ and it is possible it may be by Henry Fielding, who at this time gave himself to ironical writing of this kind in the True Patriot and the Jacobite’s Journal. Both pamphlets are full of topical allusions and scarcely concealed names. Morgan was also the subject of a brutally coarse print entitled ‘An Exact Description of the Solemn Procession of Councellor Morgan’s ghost to the Rump of the Westminster Independents.’
[393] The only elucidation of this I can suggest is from a passage in the Appeal above mentioned in which Morgan’s ghost is made to visit his friends, but ‘with neither a greyhound upon his breast nor a writ in his hand,’ perhaps suggesting that in life he was in the habit of carrying writs and being accompanied by a greyhound.
[394] The colonel appointed was Francis Towneley, an English Roman Catholic; b. 1709; fifth son of Charles Towneley of Towneley Hall, Lancashire; went to France 1728, and entered the French army; served at the siege of Philipsbourg under the Duke of Berwick, but after the peace following the War of the Polish Succession, returned to England, and lived privately in Wales until 1745. The French king sent him a colonel’s commission about the time of the intended invasion of 1744. (See Towneley MSS., privately printed.) He was given command of the Manchester regiment, as told here; was left governor of the town of Carlisle when the army retreated to Scotland in December; entirely opposed to surrendering to Cumberland, flying into a passion with Hamilton, the governor of the castle (see pp. 118, 193), and declaring ‘that it was better to die by the sword than to fall into the hands of those damned Hanovarians.’ (Evidence at Trial.) At Hamilton’s trial evidence was given that he too desired to hold out to the last, but was overruled by his officers. Towneley was tried at Southwark in July 1746; pled that his French commission entitled him to be treated as a prisoner of war, not a rebel; but this was repelled as, being an Englishman born, it was illegal to serve a sovereign at war with the British king; executed on Kennington Common, July 30th, and Hamilton on Nov. 15th.
[395] The Prince’s Life Guards: there were two troops, one commanded by Lord Elcho, the other by Colonel Elphinstone, afterwards Lord Balmerino.
[396] The army left Manchester on 1st December. The quarrel which caused Lord George Murray’s resignation of his commission as lieut.-gen. took place at Carlisle on 15th November, when the command was given to the Duke of Perth. Daniel cannot be correct in stating that Lord George was not reinstated until the army was at Manchester; the quarrel was made up before leaving Carlisle on November 20th, when Lord George led the van. Daniel, who did not join the army until the 24th or 25th, is probably writing from hazy recollection of what he had been told.
[397] Weir or Vere was the principal witness at the trials of the officers taken prisoner at Carlisle.
[398] Jean Louis Ligonnier, generally termed Sir John Ligonier, K.B., a naturalised French Protestant; b. at Castres, France, 1680; emigrated to Dublin; fought under Marlborough through most of his campaigns; major-general 1739; lieut.-general 1743; commanded the infantry at Fontenoy; commanded the army sent to Staffordshire to oppose the Jacobites, until relieved by the Duke of Cumberland, 27th November; commander-in-chief 1757; created Viscount Ligonier 1757; Earl Ligonier 1766; field-marshal 1760; d. 1770. He had a brother Francis, who succeeded Colonel Gardiner in command of the Dragoon regiment, now 13th Hussars. Francis Ligonier, though suffering from pleurisy, fought at Falkirk, caught more cold, and died a few days later.
[399] 6th December 1745 (Black Friday).
[400] The journals of the day and most authorities estimate the number at about 800. They consisted of Lord John Drummond’s own French regiment, ‘the Royal Scots,’ and the Irish picquets, or 50 men picked from each of the six Irish regiments in the French service. Two of the transports were taken on the voyage and 260 of all ranks made prisoner. On the eve of Culloden, the French envoy reported to his government that the numbers of French troops then were: Irish Picquets reduced to a half but recruited by 148 prisoners and deserters up to 260 men; Royal Scots about 350; detachment of Berwick’s regiment (p. 151) 42; Fitzjames’s horse 131; making a total of about 780. (Cottin, op. cit. p. 36.)
[401] See ante, p. 143.