Although the two armies had bivouacked during the night within three miles of each other, and were only separated by the Sheriffmuir, an elevated and uneven waste, skirted on the west by the high road from Stirling to Perth, near the river Allan, yet so ignorant was Mar of the movements of Argyle, that so far from supposing him to be within such a short distance of his camp, he imagined that he still remained at Dunblane; and it was not until he observed a reconnoitring party of Argyle’s cavalry on the adjoining heights of the Sheriffmuir next morning, that he became aware of his immediate proximity. This party was headed by the duke himself, who had aroused his army by break of day, and who, after issuing instructions to his men to prepare for battle, had ascended at an early hour the hill where his advanced guard was posted, to survey the position of the insurgents.
The Earl of Mar had also put his men under arms shortly after break of day, and when Argyle’s party of observation was first noticed, Mar was busily engaged ranging his men in marching order, preparatory to advancing upon Dunblane. Conceiving that Argyle meant to offer him battle immediately, he instantly assembled all the chiefs, and after addressing them in an eloquent speech, in which he painted in glowing colours the wrongs of their prince and their country, and congratulated them that the day had at length arrived when they could revenge their injuries in open battle, he desired to know if they were willing to engage. The Marquis of Huntly alone raised some objections, and some few were heard in an under-tone to advise a return to Perth till the spring; but the voices of Huntly and his supporters were drowned by loud shouts of “fight, fight!” from the rest, who at once galloped off to their different posts.[726]
The Earl of Mar, thereupon, resumed the marshalling of his army, which formed into two lines with a rapidity and decision that would have done honour to veteran troops; but by accident, three squadrons of horse posted on the left, misled by a cry from the Highlanders, of “horse to the right,” left their position and took ground on the right, an unfortunate mistake for the insurgents, as it contributed to the defeat of their left wing. The centre of the first line was composed of ten battalions of foot, consisting of about 4,000 men under the command of the captain of Clanranald, Glengary, Sir John Maclean, the laird of Glenbucket, Brigadier Ogilvie, and the two brothers of Sir Donald Macdonald of Sleat. General Gordon, who had long served in the army of the Czar of Muscovy, was at the head of these battalions. On the right of this line were placed two of the Marquis of Huntly’s squadrons of horse, and another called the Stirling squadron, which carried the Chevalier’s standard. This squadron, which consisted wholly of gentlemen, also bore the title of “the Restoration regiment of horse.” The Perthshire squadron formed the left wing. The centre of the second line consisted of eight battalions of foot, viz., three of the Earl of Seaforth’s foot, two of the Marquis of Huntly’s, the Earl of Panmure’s battalion, and those of the Marquis of Tullibardine, of Drummond, commanded by the Viscount of Strathallan, and of Logie-Almond, and Robertson of Strowan. On the right of this second line were posted two squadrons of horse under the Earl Marischal. The Angus squadron was on the left. The whole of the force thus formed for action may be estimated at 8,000, besides which there was a corps de reserve of 400 horse posted considerably in the rear.
While this formation was going on, the Duke of Argyle observed for several hours with great attention the various evolutions of the insurgents; but from the nature of the ground[727] occupied by them he could not obtain a full view of their line which extended through a hollow way, the view of which was obstructed by the brow of a hill occupied by a party of Mar’s troops. From Mar’s advanced guards looking towards Dunblane, the duke conjectured that the insurgents intended to march in that direction; but he was undeceived in this idea by a movement on the part of a mass of the insurgents towards his right, as if they intended to cross the moor and fall upon the flank of his army. As a large morass lay in the way of the insurgents, Argyle, in advancing from Dunblane, had conceived himself free from danger on that side; but it had now been rendered quite passable for foot as well as horse by a keen frost during the preceding night. As soon as Argyle saw this large body advance up the face of the moor, which, from the right wing of the insurgents being concealed from his view by a rising ground, he supposed was the main body of Mar’s army, he requested the advice of the officers who surrounded him as to how he should act. It was the general opinion, an opinion in which the duke himself concurred, that there would be less risk in engaging the insurgents on the high grounds than in waiting for them in the position occupied by the duke’s army; but although most of the officers thought that there would not be sufficient time to bring forward the troops and to change the order of battle, a change which was absolutely necessary, the duke resolved to draw out his troops upon the moor.
Having come to this determination, the duke returned quickly to the army, and ordered the drums to beat the General. This order was given about eleven o’clock; but although the drums instantly beat to arms, an hour elapsed before the troops were ready to march. The new order of battle was as follows. The duke’s first line consisted of six battalions of foot, all old troops, amounting scarcely to 1,800 men. On the right were posted three squadrons of dragoons, being the best in the army, namely, Evans’s, the Scots Greys, and the Earl of Stair’s. On the left there were placed three squadrons of dragoons, namely, Carpenter’s, Ker’s, and a squadron of Stair’s. The second line was composed of only two battalions of foot, with a squadron of dragoons on each wing. The right wing of the army was commanded by the duke himself, the centre by General Wightman, and the left by General Witham. Behind Evans’s dragoons, on the right wing, a body of about sixty horse, noblemen and gentlemen volunteers, took up a station.
The body which Argyle had observed coming up the face of the moor, was a squadron of the Earl Marischal’s horse and Sir Donald Macdonald’s battalion, under their respective commanders. These had been despatched by the Earl of Mar, to drive away the reconnoitring party under the Duke of Argyle from the height; but on its disappearing, they returned and reported the circumstance to the earl. On receiving this intelligence, Mar gave orders to his troops to march up the hill in four columns. The whole army was accordingly put in motion, but they had not proceeded far when the Earl Marischal, who was in advance, observed Argyle forming his lines on the southern summit of the hill, at a short distance from him. He notified the circumstance to Mar, who instantly gave orders to his men to quicken their pace up the hill. In the hurry of their ascent, the second line pressed so closely upon the first as to occasion some confusion on the left when again getting into line, and it was in consequence of this disorder that the squadrons of horse forsook their position on the left, and took ground on the right.
Before the insurgents reached the summit of the moor, Argyle’s right wing was fully formed, but the greater part of his centre and left, who were moving up the ascent by a gradual progression from right to left, had not yet reached their ground. Argyle’s right now found itself within pistol-shot of Mar’s left, but from the greater extent of Mar’s line, it considerably outflanked Argyle’s left.
As soon as the Earl of Mar perceived that Argyle’s line was only partially formed, he resolved instantly to attack him before he should be able to complete his arrangements; and having sent orders to his right and left to fall simultaneously upon the enemy, Mar placed himself at the head of the clans, and being apprised by a firing on his left that the action had commenced, he pulled off his hat, which he waved, and with a huzza led forward his men upon the half-formed battalions which composed the left wing of the enemy. Arrived within pistol-shot, the Highlanders, according to custom, poured in a volley upon the English infantry. The fire was instantly returned, and, to the dismay of the Highlanders, Alan Muidartach, the captain of Clanranald, was mortally wounded. He was instantly carried off the field, and, as his men clustered around him, he encouraged them to stand firm to their posts, and expressed a hope that the result of the struggle in which they were engaged would be favourable to the cause of his sovereign. The loss of a chief, who, from the stately magnificence with which he upheld his rank, and the urbanity of his disposition, had acquired an ascendency over the minds of his people, could not fail to depress their spirits, and make them almost overlook the danger of their situation. While absorbed in grief, they were in a moment roused from their dejection by Glengary, who, observing their conduct at this juncture, sprung forward, and throwing his bonnet into the air, cried aloud, in the expressive language of his country, “Revenge! Revenge! Revenge to-day, and mourning to-morrow!” No sooner had this brave chieftain pronounced these words, than the Highlanders rushed forward, sword in hand, with the utmost fury, upon the royalist battalions. The government troops attempted to stem the impetuosity of the attack, by opposing the Highlanders with fixed bayonets, but the latter pushed them aside with their targets, and rushing in with their broad-swords among the enemy, spread death and terror around them. The three battalions on Argyle’s left, which had never been properly formed, unable to rally, instantly gave way, and falling back upon some squadrons of horse in their rear, created such confusion, that within seven or eight minutes after the assault, the form of a battalion or squadron was no longer discernible. A complete rout ensued; and there seems no doubt that the whole of Argyle’s left would have been completely destroyed, had not General Witham, at the head of the squadrons which were upon the left of the battalions, checked the advance of Mar’s horse by a charge, in which he succeeded in capturing a standard. Afraid of being outflanked by Argyle’s left wing, which extended far beyond his position, and being ignorant of what was passing on the right wing of the royalists, the view of which was concealed by the unevenness of the ground, Witham retired in the direction of Dunblane. The Earl of Mar pursued the disordered mass to the distance of only half a mile, and having ordered his foot to halt till he should put them in order, resolved to follow the enemy and complete the victory; but receiving intelligence that his left wing and second line had given way, and that his artillery had been taken, he retraced his steps, and took up a position on the top of the stony hill of Kippendavie, till he should receive further information respecting the fate of his left wing.
This wing, which was the first to begin the attack, opened a fire upon Argyle’s right wing when almost within pistol shot. The Highlanders thereafter steadily advanced, and pouring a second volley among the enemy, with a precision and effect not to be surpassed by the best disciplined troops, rushed up, sword in hand, to the very muzzles of their muskets. Though the fire was destructive, and made Evans’s dragoons reel for a time, the English troops maintained their ground, and the foot kept up a platooning, which checked the fury of their assailants. The struggle continued for some time without any decided advantage on either side; but as Argyle began to perceive that he could make no impression in front upon the numerous masses of the insurgents, and that he might be out-flanked by them, he resolved to attack them on their flank with part of his cavalry, while his foot should gall them with their fire in front. He therefore ordered Colonel Cathcart to move along the morass to the right with a strong body of cavalry, and to fall upon the flank of Mar’s left wing, a movement which he executed with great skill. Cathcart, after receiving a fire from the insurgent horse, immediately charged them, but they sustained the assault with great firmness. Borne down by the superior weight of the English dragoons, whose horses were much larger than those of the insurgents, the Scottish horse, after nearly half-an-hour’s contest, were compelled to give way. The foot of Argyle’s right having made a simultaneous attack upon Mar’s first line of foot, the latter also were forced to fall back, and Mar’s horse and foot coming into contact with his second line, they mixed indiscriminately, and a general rout in consequence ensued.
After receding a short distance, the insurgent horse, which consisted principally of the Jacobite gentry of Perthshire and Angus, attempted to rally, and even to charge Argyle’s cavalry in their turn, but they were again forced to retire by the pressure of the English dragoons, who kept advancing in regular order upon the receding masses of the insurgents. Determined, however, not to yield one inch of ground without the utmost necessity, the cavalier horse made repeated efforts to drive the enemy back, and, in the course of their retreat, made ten or twelve attempts at different places to rally and charge the advancing foe; but unable to resist the overwhelming pressure of the English cavalry, they were, after three hours’ hard fighting, driven across the river Allan by Argyle’s dragoons. Some idea may be formed of the obstinacy of the contest, when it is considered that the distance from the field of battle to the river is scarcely three miles. To the gallant stand made by the horse may be ascribed the safety of the foot, who would have been probably all cut to pieces by the dragoons, if the attention of the latter had not been chiefly occupied by the horse. The foot, however, suffered considerably in the retreat, notwithstanding the humanity of the Duke of Argyle, who endeavoured to restrain the carnage. Besides offering quarter to such of the Jacobite gentlemen as were personally known to him, he displayed his anxiety for the preservation of his countrymen so far, that on observing a party of his dragoons cutting down a body of foot, into which they had thrown themselves, he exclaimed with a feeling of deep emotion, “Oh, spare the poor Blue-bonnets!”