Bonnie Prince Charlie | Page 3

under Mackintosh to join the army under the
Lords Derwentwater, Kenmure, and Nithsdale. Lord Derwentwater had
risen with a number of other gentlemen, and with their attendants and
friends had marched against Newcastle. They had done nothing there
but remained idle near Hexham till, joined by a force raised in the
Lowlands of Scotland by the Earls of Nithsdale, Carnwath, and
Wintoun, the united army marched north again to Kelso, where we
joined them.
"We Scots soon saw that we had gained nothing by the change of
commanders. Lord Derwentwater was ignorant of military affairs, and
he was greatly swayed by a Mr. Forster, who was somehow at the head
of the business, and who was not only incompetent, but proved to be a
coward, if not, as most folks believed, a traitor. So dissension soon
broke out, and four hundred Highlanders marched away north. After a
long delay it was resolved to move south, where, it was said, we should
be joined by great numbers in Lancashire; but by this time all had
greatly lost spirit and hope in the enterprise. We crossed the border and
marched down through Penrith, Appleby, and Kendal to Lancaster, and

then on to Preston.
"I was little more than a lad, Andrew, but even to me it seemed
madness thus to march into England with only two thousand men. Of
these twelve hundred were foot, commanded by Brigadier Mackintosh;
the others were horse. There were two troops of Stanhope's dragoons
quartered in Preston, but these retired when we neared the town, and
we entered without opposition. Next day, which was, I remember, the
10th of November, the Chevalier was proclaimed king, and some
country gentlemen with their tenants came in and joined us.
"I suppose it would have come to the same thing in the end, but never
were things so badly managed as they were by Mr. Forster.
"Preston was a strong natural position; an enemy coming from the
south could only reach it by crossing a narrow bridge over the river
Ribble a mile and a half away, and this could have been held by a
company against an army. From the bridge to the town the road was so
narrow that in several places two men could not ride abreast. It ran
between two high and steep banks, and it was here that Cromwell was
nearly killed when he attacked Charles's troops.
"Well, all these places, where we might certainly have defended
ourselves, were neglected, and we were all kept in the town, where we
formed four main posts. One was in the churchyard, and this was
commanded by Brigadier Mackintosh. In support of this was the
volunteer horse under Derwentwater and the three other lords. Lord
Charles Murray was in command at a barricade at a little distance from
the churchyard. Colonel Mackintosh had charge of a post at a windmill;
and the fourth was in the centre of the town.
"Lord Derwentwater was a poor general, but he was a brave man. He
and his two brothers, the Ratcliffs, rode about everywhere, setting an
example of coolness, animating the soldiers, and seeing to the work on
the barriers. Two days after we reached the town we heard that General
Wilde was approaching. Colonel Farquharson was sent forward with a
portion of Mackintosh's battalion to hold the bridge and the pass; but
Mr. Forster, who went out on horseback, no sooner saw the enemy
approaching than he gave orders to Farquharson and his men to retreat
to the town. If I had been in Farquharson's place I would have put a
bullet through the coward's head, and would have defended the bridge
till the last.

"After that everything was confusion; the Highlanders came back into
the town furious and disheartened. The garrison prepared to receive the
enemy. Mr. Forster was seen no more, and in fact he went straight back
to the house where he was lodging and took his bed, where he remained
till all was over. The enemy came on slowly. They could not
understand why strong posts should be left undefended, and feared
falling in an ambuscade. I was at the post commanded by Brigadier
Mackintosh. I had joined a company commanded by Leslie of Glenlyon,
who had brought with him some twenty men, and had made up his
company with men who, like myself, came up without a leader. His
company was attached to Mackintosh's regiment.
"Presently the English came in sight, and as soon as they ascertained
that we were still there, which they had begun to doubt, they attacked
us. We beat them back handsomely, and Derwentwater with his cavalry
charged their dragoons so fiercely that he drove them out of the town. It
was late in the afternoon when the fight began, and all