Memoirs of the Jacobites of 1715 and 1745

Memoirs of the Jacobites of 1715
and 1745., by

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Title: Memoirs of the Jacobites of 1715 and 1745. Volume I.
Author: Mrs. Thomson
Release Date: March 31, 2007 [EBook #20946]
Language: English
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MEMOIRS
OF
THE JACOBITES

OF 1715 AND 1745.
BY MRS. THOMSON,
AUTHOR OF
"MEMOIRS OF THE COURT OF HENRY THE EIGHTH,"
"MEMOIRS OF SARAH, DUCHESS OF MARLBOROUGH," ETC.
VOLUME I.
LONDON: RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET,
Publisher in Ordinary to Her Majesty. 1845.
LONDON:
Printed by S. & J. BENTLEY, WILSON, and FLEY, Bangor House,
Shoe Lane.

PREFACE.
In completing two volumes of a work which has been for some years in
contemplation, it may be remarked that it is the only collective
Biography of the Jacobites that has yet been given to the Public.
Meagre accounts, scattered anecdotes, and fragments of memoir, have
hitherto rather tantalized than satisfied those who have been interested
in the events of 1715 and 1745. The works of Home, of Mr. Chambers,
and the collections of Bishop Forbes, all excellent, are necessarily too
much mingled up with the current of public affairs to comprise any
considerable portion of biographical detail. Certain lives of some of the
sufferers in the cause of the Stuarts, printed soon after the contests in
behalf of those Princes, are little more than narratives of their trials and
executions; they were intended merely as ephemeral productions to
gratify a curious public, and merit no long existence. It would have
been, indeed, for many years, scarcely prudent, and certainly not
expedient, to proffer any information concerning the objects of royal
indignation, except that which the newspapers afforded: nor was it

perfectly safe, for a considerable time after the turbulent times in which
the sufferers lived, to palliate their offences, or to express any deep
concern for their fate. That there was much to be admired in those
whose memories were thus, in some measure, consigned to oblivion,
except in the hearts of their descendants; much which deserved to be
explained in their motives; much which claimed to be upheld in their
self-sacrifices, the following pages will show. Whatever leaning the
Author may have had to the unfortunate cause of the Stuarts, it has not,
however, been her intention only to pourtray the bright ornaments of
the party. She has endeavoured to show that it was composed, as well
as most other political combinations, of materials differing in
value--some pure, some base, some noble, some mean and vacillating.
As far as human weakness and prejudice can permit, the Author has
aimed at a strict scrutiny of conduct and motives. In the colouring
given to these, she has conscientiously sought to be impartial: for the
facts stated, she has given the authorities.
It now remains for the Author publicly to acknowledge the resources
from which she has derived some materials which have never before
been given to the Public, and for which she has to thank, in several
instances, not only the kindness of friends, but the liberality of
strangers.
A very interesting collection of letters, many of them written in the Earl
of Mar's own hand, and others dictated by him, is interwoven with the
biography of that nobleman. These letters were written, in fact, for the
information of the whole body of Jacobites, to whom they were
transmitted through the agent of that party, Captain Henry Straiton,
residing in Edinburgh. They form almost a diary of Lord Mar's
proceedings at Perth. They are continued up to within a few hours of
the evacuation of that city by the Jacobite army. For these curious and
characteristic letters, pourtraying as they do, in lively colours, the
difficulties of the General in his council and his camp, she is indebted
to the friendship and mediation of the Honourable Lord Cockburn, and
to the liberality of James Gibson Craig, Esq.
To the Right Honourable the Earl of Newburgh, the descendant and

representative of the Radcliffe family, her sincere and respectful
acknowledgments are due for his Lordship's readily imparting to her
several interesting particulars of the Earl of Derwentwater and his
family. She owes a similar debt of gratitude to the Viscount Strathallan,
for his Lordship's communication to her respecting the House of
Drummond. To the Honourable Mrs. Bellamy, the descendant of
Viscount Kenmure, she has also to offer similar acknowledgments, for
information respecting her unfortunate ancestor;