During his progress to Preston, Charles received no marks of attachment from the inhabitants of the towns and country through which he passed; but at Preston his arrival was hailed with acclamations and the ringing of bells. With the exception, however, of Mr. Townley, a Catholic gentleman who had been in the French service, and two or three other gentlemen, no person of any note joined him. By dint of entreaty a few recruits were indeed raised; but it was not with such levies that Charles could expect to strengthen his army. At Preston Charles held a council of war, at which he repeated the assurances he alleged he had received from his English partisans, and gave fresh hopes of being joined by them on their arrival at Manchester. The Highland chiefs were prevailed upon to continue their march. Lord George Murray proposed to march with his column to Liverpool, and to join the other division at Macclesfield; but this proposal was overruled.[1025]
Accordingly, on the 28th, the Highland army left Preston and marched to Wigan,[1026] where they passed the night. Next day the whole army entered Manchester, amid the acclamations of the inhabitants, who illuminated their houses, and lighted up bonfires in the evening, to express their joy. The same evening one Dickson, a sergeant, enlisted by the Chevalier Johnstone, from the prisoners taken at Preston, presented 180 recruits whom he had raised in the course of the day in Manchester. This young Scotsman, whom the Chevalier represents to have been “as brave and intrepid as a lion,” disappointed at his own ill success in raising recruits at Preston, had requested permission from Johnstone, in whose company he was, to proceed to Manchester—a day’s march before the army—to make sure of some recruits before it should arrive there. The Chevalier reproved him sharply for entertaining so wild and extravagant a project, which would expose him to the danger of being taken and hanged, and ordered him back to his company; but Dickson, reckless of consequences, quitted Preston on the evening of the 28th, with his mistress and a drummer, and travelling all night, entered Manchester next morning, and immediately began to beat up for recruits for “The Yellow Haired Laddie.” Conceiving that the Highland army was at hand, the populace at first did not interrupt him; but when they ascertained that the army would not arrive till the evening, they surrounded him in a tumultuous manner, with the intention of taking him prisoner dead or alive. Dickson presented his blunderbuss, charged with slugs, threatened to blow out the brains of those who first dared to lay hands on himself or the two who accompanied him; and by turning round continually, facing in all directions, and behaving like a lion, he soon enlarged the circle which a crowd of people had formed around him. Having contrived for some time to manœuvre in this way, those of the inhabitants of Manchester, who were attached to the house of Stuart, took arms, and flew to the assistance of Dickson, to rescue him from the fury of the mob; so that he had soon 500 or 600 men to aid him, who dispersed the crowd in a very short time. Dickson now triumphed in his turn; and putting himself at the head of his followers, he proudly paraded undisturbed the whole day with his drummer, enlisting all who offered themselves. That evening, on presenting his recruits, it was found that the whole amount of his expenses did not exceed three guineas. This adventure gave rise to many a joke, at the expense of the town of Manchester, from the singular circumstance of its having been taken by a sergeant, a drummer, and a girl.[1027]
The van of the prince’s army, consisting of 100 horse, entered Manchester on the evening of the 28th of November, and, to magnify their numbers, ordered quarters to be prepared for 10,000 men. Another party of cavalry entered the town at ten o’clock next morning, and about two o’clock in the afternoon, Charles himself, accompanied by the main body, marched in on foot, surrounded by a select body of the clans. He wore on this occasion a light tartan plaid belted with a blue sash, a grey wig, and a blue velvet bonnet with silver lace, having a white rose in the centre of the top, by which latter badge he was distinguished from his general officers, who wore their cockades on one side.[1028] Here, as in all the other towns through which the Highlanders had passed, the Chevalier de St. George was proclaimed. The bells of the town were rung, and in the evening an illumination was made and bonfires lighted, by order of the prince, who also issued a proclamation requiring all persons, who had public money in their hands, to pay it into his treasury. The army halted a day at Manchester and beat up for recruits. They were joined by some young men of the most respectable families in the town, by several substantial tradesmen and farmers, and by upwards of 100 common men. These, with the recruits raised by Dickson, were formed into a corps called the Manchester regiment, the command of which was given to Mr. Townley, on whom the rank of Colonel was conferred. This regiment never exceeded 300 men, and were all the English who ever openly declared for the prince.[1029]
Though Charles’s reception at Manchester had been rather flattering, yet the countenance he received was not such as to encourage him to proceed, and a retreat now began to be talked of. One of Lord George Murray’s friends ventured to hint to him that he thought they had advanced far enough, as neither of the events they had anticipated, of an insurrection in England, or a landing from France, were likely to take place. Lord George, who, it is understood, had always a retreat in view, if not supported by a party in England or by succours from abroad, said that they might make a farther trial by going as far as Derby, but that if they did not receive greater encouragement than they had yet met with, he would propose a retreat to the prince.
Conceiving that it was the intention of Charles to march by Chester into Wales, the bridges over the Mersey, on the road to Chester, had been broken down by order of the authorities; but this precaution was quite unnecessary. After halting a day at Manchester the army proceeded to Macclesfield on the morning of the 1st of December, in two divisions. One took the road to Stockport, and the other that to Knottesford. The bridge near Stockport having been broken down, Charles crossed the river up to his middle in water. At Knottesford the other division crossed the river over temporary bridges, made chiefly out of poplar trees laid length-ways with planks across. The horse and artillery crossed at Chedle-ford. In the evening both divisions joined at Macclesfield, where they passed the night.[1030]
At Macclesfield Charles received intelligence that the army of Ligonier, of which the Duke of Cumberland had taken the chief command, was on its march, and was quartered at Lichfield, Coventry, Stafford, and Newcastle-under-Lyme. The prince resolved to march for Derby. To conceal their intentions from the enemy, Lord George Murray offered to go with a division of the army to Congleton, which lay on the direct road to Lichfield, by which movement he expected that the duke would collect his army in a body at Lichfield, and thereby leave the road to Derby open.[1031] This proposal having been agreed to, Lord George went next day with his division to Congleton, whence he despatched Colonel Ker at night with a party towards Newcastle-under-Lyme, whither the Duke of Kingston had retired with his horse, on the approach of the Highlanders, to get intelligence of the enemy. Ker came to a village within three miles of Newcastle, and had almost surprised a party of dragoons, and succeeded in seizing one Weir, a noted spy, who had been at Edinburgh all the time the prince was there, and who had kept hovering about the army during its march to give intelligence of its motions.[1032] The main body of the royal army, which was posted at Newcastle-under-Lyme, on hearing of the march of the division of the Highland army upon Congleton, retreated towards Lichfield, and other bodies that were beyond Newcastle advanced for the purpose of concentrating near that town, by which movements the design of Lord George Murray was completely answered. Having thus succeeded in deceiving the duke, Lord George Murray, after passing the night at Congleton, went off early next morning with his division, and turning to the left, passed through Leek, and arrived at Ashbourne in the evening. Charles, who had halted a day at Macclesfield, took the road to Derby by Gawsworth, and entered Leek shortly after the other division had left it. He would have remained there till next morning; but as he considered it unsafe to keep his army divided at such a short distance from the royal forces, who might fall upon either division, he set out from Leek about midnight, and joined the other column at Ashbourne early in the morning.[1033] The Duke of Devonshire, who had been posted in the town of Derby, with a body of 700 militia, on hearing of the approach of the Highland army had retired from the town on the preceding evening.[1034]
On the 4th of December Charles put the first division of his army in motion, and at eleven o’clock in the forenoon his van-guard, consisting of thirty horse, entered Derby and ordered quarters for 9,000 men. About three o’clock in the afternoon Lord Elcho arrived with the life-guards and some of the principal officers on horseback. These were followed, in the course of the evening, by the main body, which entered in detached parties to make the army appear as numerous as represented. Charles himself did not arrive till the dusk of the evening; he entered the town on foot, and took up his quarters in a house belonging to the Earl of Exeter. During the day the bells were rung, and bonfires were lighted at night. The magistrates were ordered to attend in the market-place, in their gowns, to hear the usual proclamations read; but having stated that they had sent their gowns out of town, their attendance was dispensed with, and the proclamations were made by the common crier.[1035]
The fate of the empire and his own destiny may be said to have now depended upon the next resolution which Charles was to take. He had, after a most triumphant career, approached within 127 miles of London, and there seemed to be only another step necessary to complete the chivalrous character of his adventure, and to bring his enterprise to a successful termination. This was, to have instantly adopted the bold and decisive measure of marching upon and endeavouring to seize the capital. The possession of the metropolis, where Charles had a considerable party, would have at once paralysed the government; and the English Jacobites, no longer afraid of openly committing themselves, would have rallied round his standard. The consternation which prevailed in London when the news of the arrival of the Highland army at Derby reached that capital, precludes the idea that any effectual resistance would have been offered on the part of the citizens; and it was the general opinion, that if Charles had succeeded in beating the Duke of Cumberland, the army which had assembled on Finchley Common would have dispersed of its own accord.[1036] Alluding, in a number of the True Patriot, to the dismay which pervaded the minds of the citizens of London, Fielding says, that when the Highlanders, by “a most incredible march,” got between the Duke of Cumberland’s army and the metropolis, they struck a terror into it, “scarce to be credited.” The Chevalier Johnstone, who collected information on the spot shortly after the battle of Culloden, says, that when the intelligence of the capture of Derby reached London, many of the inhabitants fled to the country, carrying along with them their most valuable effects, and that all the shops were shut,—that there was a prodigious run upon the bank, which only escaped bankruptcy by a stratagem,—that although payment was not refused, the bank, in fact, retained its specie, by keeping it continually surrounded by agents of its own with notes, who, to gain time, were paid in sixpences; and as a regulation had been made, that the persons who came first should be entitled to priority of payment; and as the agents went out by one door with the specie they had received, and brought it back by another, the bona fide holders of notes could never get near enough to present them;—that King George had ordered his yachts—on board of which he had put all his most precious effects—to remain at the Tower stairs in readiness to sail at a moment’s warning,—and that the Duke of Newcastle, secretary of state for the war department, had shut himself up in his house a whole day,[1037] deliberating with himself upon the part it would be most prudent for him to take, doubtful even whether he should not immediately declare for the prince.[1038]
The only obstacle to Charles’s march upon the capital was the army of the Duke of Cumberland, which was within a day’s march of Derby. From the relative position of the two armies, the Highlanders might, with their accustomed rapidity, have outstripped the duke’s army, and reached the capital at least one day before it; but to Charles it seemed unwise to leave such an army, almost double his own in point of numbers, in his rear, whilst that of Wade’s would advance upon his left flank. Of the result of an encounter with Cumberland, Charles entertained the most sanguine hopes. His army was small, when compared to that of his antagonist; but the paucity of its numbers was fully compensated by the personal bravery of its component parts, and the enthusiastic ardour which pervaded the bosom of every clansman. At no former stage of the campaign were the Highlanders in better spirits than on their arrival at Derby. They are represented by the Chevalier Johnstone as animated to the highest pitch of enthusiasm, breathing nothing but a desire for the combat; and were to be seen during the whole day waiting in crowds before the shops of the cutlers to get their broadswords sharpened, and even quarrelling with one another for priority in whetting those fearful weapons.[1039] It was not without reason, therefore, that Charles calculated upon defeating Cumberland; and although there was a possibility that that bold and daring adventurer or his army, and perhaps both, might perish in the attempt to seize the capital, yet the importance of the juncture, and the probability that such a favourable opportunity of accomplishing his object might never again occur, seem to justify Charles in his design of advancing immediately upon London. However, whatever might have been the result of the advance of the rebel army, other counsels prevailed, and Charles reluctantly yielded to the entreaties of his friends, who advised a retreat.[1040]
On the morning after the arrival of the Highland army at Derby, Charles held a council of war to deliberate upon the course to be pursued. The prince, who never for a moment entertained the least idea of a retreat, and who considered his own personal safety a minor consideration, urged every argument in his power for an immediate advance, with all the vehemence and ardour characteristic of an enterprising and fanatic mind. He said that he did not doubt, that, as his cause was just, it would prevail,—that he could not think of retreating after coming so far,—and that he was hopeful there would be a defection in the enemy’s army, and that some of their troops would join him. Lord George Murray, however, proposed a retreat, and used a variety of arguments, which appeared to him unanswerable, in support of that measure. He represented to his royal highness and the council, that they had advanced into England depending upon French succours, or an insurrection in that kingdom, and that they had been disappointed in both,—that the prince’s army, by itself, was by no means a match for the troops which the government had assembled,—that besides the Duke of Cumberland’s army, which was between 7,000 and 8,000 men strong, and which was expected that night at Stafford, Marshal Wade was coming up by hard marches by the east road with an army of 10,000 men, and that he was already at Ferrybridge, which was within two or three days’ march of the Highland army,—that in addition to these two armies, there was a third at least equal to either of them already forming in the neighbourhood of London, consisting of guards and horse, with troops which the government would bring from the coast, where they were quartered; so that there would be three armies of regular troops, amounting together to about 30,000 men, which would surround the Highland army, which was not above a sixth of that number. That, admitting that the prince should beat Cumberland or Wade, he might, should he lose 1,000 or 1,500 of the best of his men, be undone by such a victory, as the rest would be altogether unfit to engage a fresh army, which he must expect to encounter,—that, on the other hand, should the prince be defeated, it could not be supposed that he or any of his men could escape, as the militia, who had not hitherto appeared much against the Highland army, would, upon its defeat, possess themselves of all the roads, and the enemy’s horse would surround them on all sides,—that as Lord John Drummond had lately landed in Scotland with his own regiment and some Irish troops from France, the prince would have a better chance of success by returning to Scotland,—that the forces under Lord John Drummond and the Highlanders assembled at Perth, would, when united, form an army almost as numerous as that under the prince,—that since the court of France had begun to send troops, it was to be hoped it would send considerable succours, and as the first had landed in Scotland, it was probable the rest would follow the same route,—that if the prince was cut off, all the succours France could send would avail nothing, and “the king’s” affairs would be ruined for ever,—that the prince had no chance of beating in succession the armies opposed to him, unless the English troops should be seized with a panic, and run away at the sight of the Highlanders, a circumstance barely possible, but not to be depended upon,—that the whole world would blame the prince’s counsellors as rash and foolish, for venturing an attempt which could not succeed,—and that the prince’s person, should he escape being killed in battle, would fall into the enemy’s hands. In fine, that nothing short of an absolute certainty of success could justify such a rash undertaking, but that retreat, which was still practicable, and of which Lord George offered to undertake the conduct, would give the prince a much better chance of succeeding than a battle under such circumstances, and would do him as much honour as a victory.[1041]