13. The opening rounds of the Rebellion of 1745
Prince Charles, often referred to by his enemies as the Young Pretender due to his perceived pretensions to the throne, landed in Scotland with but seven supporters at Eriskay in July 1745. Word of his presence in the country spread quickly among the Highland clans, whose leaders recognized the possibilities presented by the fact that the bulk of the British army was engaged in continental warfare. At Glenfinnan Charles raised the standards of James III and VIII – his father, James Edward – and gathered about him the clans which rose immediately to his support. Most of the clan leaders still remembered and resented how James Edward had abandoned their cause years before, and it was in part the personal charisma of Prince Charles which appealed to the clans. In short order Edinburgh was in the hands of the Jacobite army, which moved towards Prestonpans.
The only army in the Highlands loyal to the government of the Hanoverian King, by then George II, was commanded by John Cope, and he chose to engage the Highlanders at Prestonpans. The almost equally matched armies (in terms of numbers, the government troops lacked experience) clashed on September 21, 1745, in a battle which was short, violent, and a stunning success for the Stuarts. More than 300 government troops were killed outright against less than three dozen from the Jacobite army. The government army began the battle with about 2,300 men, less than two hundred escaped to safety, the rest killed, wounded, or captured by the enemy. Charles ordered the wounded and prisoners be treated with magnanimity. The stunning victory, as well as its scope, led to more swarming to join the Stuarts. When word of the defeat reached George II, 12,000 British troops were recalled from their service in Flanders.