The resolute delays of some few gentlemen, and the great number they had to quarter upon, made it impracticable for the Rebels to collect their Levy money from much more than one half of these counties, before they were called up and obliged to march and reinforce their friends in the South, so that almost all Buchan, and most of the more remote estates in both Banff and Aberdeenshire escaped at this time.
Elsick’s Men, and McGregors come to Aberdeen
Soon after Lord Lewis marched up with the whole of the Rebels from this country, there arrived a Spanish ship at Peterhead with arms and money, which brought a party of Elsick’s[364] men from the Mearns to possess Aberdeen and bring up this loading; but they being looked on as weak, a party of the McGregors joined them. None of these parties however ventured to the country but only while they were bringing up their cargo from Peterhead. Lord Lewis had been abundantly arbitrary in his Government, Horses and Arms had been everywhere seized throughout the counties, under the pretence of searching for arms; in houses both in town and country many things had been pilfered with impunity, and he himself treated everybody with a great deal of insolence, but all this was but a jest in comparison with these McGregors. They went to people’s houses through the town and always behaved so very rudely as to make them forced to give them money to go away. They would stop gentlemen on the streets openly, and either take their silver buckles and buttons from them, or oblige them to give so much to redeem them. Without the least provocation they would beat and abuse people; and whenever they took it into their heads to enquire about any gentlemen’s principles they met with, they came up with their broadswords drawn and asked what King they were for? If they hesitated the least in answering ‘King James,’ they were sure of a slap, and never got away till they sat down on their knees and swore to the Pretender, and cursed King George in any terms the ruffians pleased. But happily they soon went off with the arms and left Elsick’s men only to guard the town. These continued mostly till the retreat of their army and behaved pretty civilly; indeed though they had inclined to do otherwise, yet the town’s people not being under so much restraint as formerly, began to show themselves so keenly, that they made them glad to be peaceable, for fear of their being mobbed.
Rebels retreat from Stirling
The whole Rebel Army, except the Clans that went the Highland road with their Prince, passed through Aberdeenshire on their retreat from Stirling. They marched in two columns (the clans making a third), Lord Lewis Gordon’s men, the Deeside men, Glenbucket’s men and some other body’s forming one column and marching in the high road to Strathboggy. The rest of their army formed another column and marched with such baggages as they had got off from Stirling, or the Clans had left them, through the town of Aberdeen. They were commanded by Lord George Murray and consisted mostly of the Athole Brigade, French, Lord Ogilvies men,[365] Cromarty’s, Kilmarnock’s, Kelly’s,[366] Elsick’s, Lifeguards, Hussars, and all their other Lowland Corps. They stayed but short while in Aberdeen and so had not great opportunity of doing much mischief, though they seemed not at all averse to do it. For the ill situation of their affairs and their marching in such cold stormy weather, put them in a great fret. They threatened dreadful things against they should return Conquerors, particularly against the Clergy of the Church of Scotland, on which subject none was more violent than Lord John Drummond, who once and again proposed the hanging of some of them for examples; and indeed the Clergy were so sensible of their danger, that if the Duke had been obliged to retreat again, most of them had resolved to prepare to leave the country. They divided at Aberdeen and marched to Spey, some by Old Meldrum and Banff and some by Inverury and Strathboggy. At Speyside they all joined and met there with the other column. There was a good deal of pilfering by their stragglers in this march, but when the country people had the resolution to oppose them, they behaved very cowardly. The minister of Clate[367] in particular and a few of his parishioners unarmed, took the guns and bayonets from two Strathboggy men who fired on the people for finding fault with their robbing a dyeing woman of her bedclothes.
Hussars and Stonnywood’s men left in Aberdeen
Stonnywood’s men though they had marched so far in the Highroad, yet came off from the rest of their corps and marched down by Deeside to Aberdeen, where they remained after the main body had left it, along with the Hussars under one Colonel Baggot,[368] a French Officer, and a very rough sort of man and so exceeding well fitted to command the Banditti of which that Corps was composed, and to distress a country. The Lord Lieutenant was along with their Prince, so Lonmay, the Depute Governor, had the chief direction, though both he and Stonnywood pretended that most of the extravagant things done by the Hussars, was owing to Baggot. They immediately fell to work to collect the remains of the Levy money. And now they had a new contrivance to force it. These fellows, the Hussars, went galloping about, and seized the gentlemen that were refractory, or their factor, or then the principal tenants, if none of the former could be found, and brought them in prisoners to Stonnywood and Baggot, the last of whom was sure to use them very roughly. But most of the gentlemen absconded, and some of the few they got stood out against all their bad usage, as particularly Mr. Innes, Factor to the Earl of Kintore. The Tenants which they seized had not the money to give so they were obliged at length to let them go and made but very little of this method. The Hussars were vastly rude and expensive wherever they went, and failed not to pick up any horses as they come along that were remaining. But for all their roughness, people that would venture to stand their ground, would sometimes get the better of them. One instance of which was at New Dear when two of them armed with pistols were taking a gentleman’s horse and money, the minister of the place[369] being only with the gentleman, and both of them only with staves in their hands; the minister first knocked down one of the fellows and the gentleman the other, and disarmed them both and set them off.
Some of Fitzjames Dragoons land
The Saturday before his Royal Highness came to town, a French ship landed some of the Dragoons of Fitzjames’ Regiment at Aberdeen with their riding furniture.[370] There had come afore about the same time another French ship with the money for the Pretender’s use, but the Master thought it dangerous to land it at Aberdeen as the Duke was so near, and so sailed about for Peterhead where it was received by Lonmay.[371] Fitzjames’ Dragoons marched off next day, as did also Stonnywood and his men with the Hussars, and thus the town of Aberdeen at length got free of the Rebel Government, after it had been about five months subject to it.
Duke of Cumberland comes to Aberdeen