Pursuant to the plan of march fixed upon at crossing the Esk, the Highland army separated, and Lord George Murray, at the head of the low country regiments, proceeded to Ecclefechan, where he arrived on the night of the 20th, and marched next day to Moffat. The prince, at the head of the clans, marched to Annan, where he passed the night of the 20th. The horse of the prince’s division under Lord Elcho were, after a short halt, sent to take possession of Dumfries, which they accomplished early next morning, and the prince, with the clans, came up in the evening. In no town in Scotland had there been greater opposition displayed to the restoration of the house of Stuart than in Dumfries, from the danger to which the inhabitants supposed their religious liberties, as presbyterians, would be exposed under a catholic sovereign. This feeling, which was strongly manifested by them in the insurrection of 1715, had now assumed even a more hostile appearance from the existence of the new body of dissenters called “Seceders,” which had lately left the bosom of the established church of Scotland, and which professed principles thought to be more in accordance with the gospel than those of their parent church. A body of these dissenters had volunteered for the defence of Edinburgh shortly after Charles had landed, and, on his march for England, a party of them had taken up arms, and had captured and carried to Dumfries thirty waggons belonging to the Highland army, which had been left at Lockerby by the escort appointed to protect them. To punish the inhabitants for their hostility, Charles ordered them to pay £2,000 in money, and to contribute 1,000 pairs of shoes. About £1,100 only were raised; and, in security for the remainder, Mr. Crosbie, the provost, and a Mr. Walter Riddel, were carried off as hostages. The prince also levied the excise at Dumfries, and carried off some arms, horses, &c. Some outrages were committed in the town by the Highlanders, who told the inhabitants that they ought to think themselves gently used, and be thankful that their town was not burned to ashes.
After halting a day at Dumfries, the prince proceeded with his division up Nithsdale on the evening of the 23d, and passed the night at Drumlanrig, the seat of the Duke of Queensberry. Next day he entered Clydesdale, and halted at Douglas. The prince slept that night in Douglas castle. He reached Hamilton on the 25th, and took up his residence in the palace of the Duke of Hamilton. Next day the Chevalier occupied himself in hunting, an amusement of which he was uncommonly fond, and to which he had been accustomed from his youth. The division under Lord George Murray, after halting a day at Moffat, where, being Sunday, his men heard sermon in different parts of the town from the episcopal ministers who accompanied them, proceeded by Douglas and Hamilton, and entered Glasgow on Christmas day. On the evening of the 26th the prince also marched into Glasgow on foot at the head of the clans. Here he resolved to halt and refresh his men for a few days after their arduous march, and to provide them with clothing, of which they stood greatly in need. In passing through Douglas and Lesmahago, the Highlanders pillaged and burnt some houses, in revenge for the capture of Macdonald of Kinlochmoidart, who, in his way south from the Highlands, had been seized on Brokencross moor, near Lesmahago, by the country people, headed by a student of divinity named Linning, and carried to Edinburgh castle.[1077]
Before noticing Charles’s proceedings at Glasgow, it is necessary to give a short summary of those of his friends in the north, up to the period of his arrival in that city.
When intelligence of the Chevalier’s march into England, and his unexpected success at Carlisle was received in the north, the zeal of the Jacobites was more and more inflamed. Whilst the Frasers, headed by the Master of Lovat, blockaded Fort Augustus, Lord Lewis Gordon was busily employed in raising men, and levying money by force and threats of military execution, in the shires of Banff and Aberdeen. Of two battalions which his lordship raised, one was placed under the command of Gordon of Abbachie, and the other under Moir of Stonywood. To relieve Fort Augustus, the Earl of Loudon left Inverness on the 3d of December with 600 men of the independent companies, and passing through Stratherrick during a very severe frost, reached Fort Augustus without opposition, and having supplied the garrison with every thing necessary for its defence, returned to Inverness on the 8th, after notifying to the inhabitants of Stratherrick the risk they would incur should they leave their houses and join the insurgents.[1078]
As the future progress of the insurrection in the Highlands depended much upon the Frasers, Lord Loudon, in conjunction with Lord President Forbes, resolved to march to Castle Downie, the seat of Lord Lovat, and to obtain the best satisfaction that could be got for the peaceable behaviour of that powerful clan. For this purpose, two companies of the Mackenzies, which had been posted near Brahan, were called into Inverness on the 9th of December, and after allowing the detachment, which had been at Fort Augustus, one day’s rest, his lordship left Inverness on the 10th, taking along with him that detachment and the two companies, amounting together to 800 men, and proceeded to Castle Downie. The earl prevailed upon Lord Lovat to go with him to Inverness, and to live there under his own eye, until all the arms of which the clan were possessed, (and of which he promised to obtain the delivery,) were brought in. But instead of delivering the arms on the day fixed, being the 14th of December, he made excuses and fresh promises from day to day till the 21st, when Lord Loudon, thinking that he was deceived, placed sentries at the door of the house where Lord Lovat resided, intending to commit him to the castle of Inverness next morning; but his lordship contrived to escape during the night through a back passage, and, being very infirm, was supposed to have been carried off on men’s shoulders.[1079]
Next in importance to the keeping down of the Frasers, was the relief of the shires of Banff and Aberdeen from the sway of Lord Lewis Gordon. To put an end to the recruiting and exactions of this nobleman, the laird of Macleod was sent the same day that Lord Loudon proceeded to the seat of Lord Lovat with a body of 500 men, composed of 400 of his own kindred, and 100 of the Macleods of Assint, towards Elgin, and these were to be followed by as many men as could be spared from Inverness, after adjusting matters with Lord Lovat. Accordingly, on the 13th, 200 men were detached under Captain Munro of Culcairn, to follow Macleod to Elgin and Aberdeen, and these were again to be followed by other small bodies, and by Lord Loudon himself, as soon as matters were finally settled with Lovat. The escape of that wily old chief, however, put an end to this part of the plan, as it was considered dangerous to reduce the force near Inverness any farther, while Lord Lovat was at large.
In the meantime Macleod reached Elgin, where he received intelligence that a party of 200 of the insurgents had taken possession of the boats on the Spey at Fochabers, and that they intended to dispute the passage with him. Macleod advanced to the banks of the Spey on the 15th; but the insurgents, instead of waiting for him, retired on his approach, and he passed the river without molestation. On the 16th and 17th he marched to Cullen and Banff. Meanwhile Munro of Culcairn arrived with his detachment at Keith, where he was joined by Grant of Grant at the head of 500 of his clan, and on the 18th they proceeded, in conjunction, to Strathbogie. Next day it was agreed upon between Macleod and Culcairn, that whilst the former should march next morning from Banff to Old Meldrum, which is twelve miles from Aberdeen, the latter, with Grant and his men, should at the same time proceed to Inverury, which is about the same distance from Aberdeen; but Grant, apprehensive that his own country would be harassed in his absence, returned home.[1080]
When Lord Lewis Gordon heard of the arrival of Macleod at Inverury, he resolved to attack him. With his own regiment, the men whom Lord John Drummond had sent, and a battalion of 300 Farquharsons, commanded by Farquharson of Monaltry, he left Aberdeen on the 23d, and arrived near Inverury with such expedition and secrecy, that he almost surprised Macleod in his quarters. It was late before Lord Lewis reached the place, and Macleod had barely time to put his men under arms, and to seize some advantageous posts in the town. Day-light had disappeared before the action commenced; but the light of the moon enabled the combatants to see one another. Both sides continued to fire for some time; but Lord John Drummond’s soldiers and the Farquharsons having advanced close upon the Macleods, the latter fled, and never halted till they had recrossed the Spey. Very few men were killed on either side; but the victors took forty-one prisoners, among whom were Mr. Gordon, younger of Ardoch; Forbes of Echt; Maitland of Petrichie; and John Chalmers, one of the regents of the university of Aberdeen.[1081]
Shortly after this skirmish, Lord Lewis Gordon marched his men to the general rendezvous at Perth, where, about the time of Prince Charles’s return from England, about 4,000 men were collected. These consisted of the Mackintoshes, the Frasers, the part of the Mackenzies attached to Charles, and the Farquharsons; of recruits sent from the Highlands to the clan regiments that had gone to England; of the forces raised by Lord Lewis Gordon, Sir James Kinloch, and other gentlemen in the low country of the north; and of the troops brought over from France by Lord John Drummond.
While this mixed body lay at Perth, a disagreement occurred between the Highlanders and the other troops, which might have led to serious consequences if the arrival of an order sent by the prince from Dumfries, requiring them to hold themselves in readiness to join him, had not put an end to the dispute. This disagreement was occasioned by the conduct of Lord Strathallan and his council of officers, on receiving the order which Charles had sent from Carlisle by Maclauchlan of Maclauchlan, to march with all their forces, and to follow the army into England. This order, contrary to the opinion of Maclauchlan and all the Highland officers, they had considered it inexpedient to obey. The result was, that the Highland officers caballed together, and resolved to march; but as the Highlanders had no money, as many of those who had come last from the Highlands wanted arms, and as Lord Strathallan was in possession of the money, arms, ammunition, and stores, they could not proceed. In this dilemma they entered into a combination to seize the money and arms, and, persisting in their resolution to march, matters were proceeding to extremities when Rollo of Powhouse arrived at Perth with the order alluded to, which at once put an end to the dispute.[1082]