fluence was nearly annihilated. Marr, was now in possession of the greater part of that ancient kingdom, which he held for James, but he was just as near his purpose, the conquest of Britain, as he would have been to the life of his enemy, by cutting off a lock of his hair, which will be evinced by the events which we have now to relate.

We left the rival dukes carrying on a war of manifestoes, which, as Mr. Freebairn, his majesty's printer in Edinburgh, had now retired to Perth, where he had set up printer for James, Marr was able to carry on with great ease, and at very little expense. He had also sent colonel Hay and Dr. Abercromby* on an express to the pretender, and was intending to maintain himself at Perth till their return, for which purpose he was casting up additional intrenchments, and fortifying the bridge of Earn; and to keep up the spirit of his partisans, he employed Mr. Freebairn to print, from time to time, news from the armies, which, as they were of his own manufacture, were sufficiently flattering. In one of these fictitious narratives, he informed the people that the detachment sent across the Forth, had "joined his and the king's friends in the south, where they were masters of Newcastle, and were carrying every thing before them, while in and about London, the king's friends had taken arms in such numbers, that king George had been fain to retire out of the country." With such monstrous fables were his infatuated followers drawn on to their ruin.

Provisions, in the meantime, were becoming difficult to be procured, both at Stirling and Perth, and the duke of Argyle, perfectly informed of all the movements of the rebels in the south, in case any portion of them should attempt to join Marr by the heads of the Forth, ordered a detachment of dragoons, and a battalion of foot to Kilsyth, and two hundred dragoons to Falkirk, where they could be easier found in provisions, and, in case of the rebels escaping by that route from general Carpenter, would be in the way to impede their progress. He also, on the twenty-second of October, sent off

Author of the book entitled "Martial Achievements of the Scotish Nation."

Rac's History of the Rebellion, p. 297

brigadier Grant's regiment to the castle of Edinburgh, where the magistrates, for their better security, had ordered twenty pieces of cannon to be placed on the several bastions of the city walls; and on the twenty-third, having received advice that a party of the rebels, consisting of two hundred foot, and one hundred horse, were on their march by the way of castle Campbell, towards Dunfermline, he sent off a detachment of dragoons, under the command of the honourable colonel Catheart, who came up with them on Monday the twentyfourth, at five o'clock in the morning, killed and wounded several of them, and took seventeen prisoners, among whom were the following gentlemen-Mr. Murray, brother to Abercarnie, Mr. Hay, son to Arbroath, Mr. Patrick Gordon, younger of Aberlour, Alexander Forbes, son to the laird of Bauffie, Mr. Robertson, brother to Donshils, Mr. Kinloch, a physician, Alexander Smith, belonging to the family of M'Intosh, Dr. Alexander Gordon, Francis Gordon of Craig, Mr. Hamilton of Gibstone, in Strathbogie, and George Gordon of the mill of Kincardine. Colonel Cathcart returned to the camp at Stirling, with his prisoners the same evening, having accomplished the object of his journey, with the trifling damage of one dragoon wounded in the cheek, and one horse hurt.*

Marr was now beginning to feel the difficulties of his situation. His friends had done what they could, or, at least, what they were willing to do, and the district which he occupied, was already in a great measure exhausted. A new field, and a wider scene of action was become necessary, both to supply and to occupy the numerous hordes he had assembled around him, which, if he did not obtain for them, he knew they could not long be held together. Accordingly, at Perth, November the ninth, he called a council of all the chiefs, where it was determined to cross the Forth with the utmost celerity. After having disposed of three thousand of their troops in garrisons at Dundee, Bruntisland, and other places along the coast of Fife, they found themselves still masters of twelve thousand effective men, which they proposed to divide into four divisions.

* Life of John, Duke of Argyle, p. 187. Rae's History of the Rebellion, pp. 294, 295.

With one division consisting of a thousand men, they proposed to attack the long causey leading to the bridge of Stirling, and to lodge themselves safe from the cannon of the castle, in and about the houses and barnyards, as if they intended to force the bridge. With a second division, consisting of an equal number, they proposed another attack at the Abbey-ford, a mile below Stirling bridge; and with a third division, consisting also of a thousand men, to make another attack at the Drip-Coble, a mile and a half above the bridge. These three attacks, they supposed would amply employ the duke of Argyle, whose force scarcely amounted to three thousand men; and, in the meantime, their main body, consisting of nine thousand men, was to cross the river a little farther up without being discovered, and without a moment's loss of time push on to England, leaving the three thousand employed at Stirling to follow at their leisure, so soon as they had disposed of Argyle; or, in case of the duke abandoning Stirling, and attacking the main body after having passed the Forth, they were to force. themselves into the town of Stirling, and press upon him in the rear.* Argyle, however, who had learned under the duke of Marlborough one special part of a general's duty, that of being always certain of the situation of his adversary, was perfectly acquainted with all that passed in his rival's camp, and even in his councils, and took his measures accordingly. Aware, that if the rebels reached the banks of the Forth, he would fight them to great disadvantage, as, from the nature of the ground, he would be deprived of the use of his cavalry, upon which he placed his principal dependance, he resolved to take up a position in advance of that river, and, for this purpose, gave orders to his little army, which amounted to scarcely three thousand effective regular troops, made up of eight small battalions of foot, and five regiments of dragoons, to hold themselves in readiness to march next day. Accordingly, his grace, having appointed the earl of Buchan, with the Stirlingshire militia, and the Glasgow regiment, to guard the town of Stirling, commenced his march to the north, on the morning of Saturday the twelfth, and in the afternoon,

Rae's History of the Rebellion, p. 299.

encamped on a rising ground, having on his right the Sheriffmuir, and on his left the town of Dunblane.

Previously to this, Marr, acting up to the resolutions of his council, committed the town of Perth to the care of colonel Balfour, and marched on the tenth of November, to Auchterarder, accompanied by two thousand three hundred horse, and five thousand foot. He was next day joined by general Gordon, with the clans, amounting to one hundred horse, and three thousand foot, which swelled his force to ten thousand four hundred effective men. The eleventh was devoted to resting the troops, fixing the order of battle, with the order of marching, &c.; and on the twelfth, general Gordon, and brigadier Ogilvie, with eight squadrons of horse, and all the clans, were ordered to advance and occupy Dunblane. The remainder of the rebel army had orders to parade very early on the muir of Tulli bardine, and thence to march after general Gordon. The earl of Marr having gone to castle Drummond to meet with the earl of Braidalbine, this part of the army was left to the care of general Hamilton, who, upon the march, received an express from general Gordon that the royal army was in great forée át Dunblane, upon which he made a halt, and drew up in order of battle on the site of the Roman camp, near Ardoch, and sent an express to the earl of Marr, who shortly after joined him; but hearing nothing further from general Gordon, who was gone on before, he supposed it to be only some small party sent out to incommode their march. He ordered, however, guards to be posted, and the army to take up quarters, with orders to parade at any time of the night when they should hear the report of three cannon, which were to be fired as a signal in case of the approach of an enemy.

Scarcely had these orders been issued, when an express from general Gordon, certified the earl of Marr, that the duke of Argyle was at Dunblane with his whole army; when the general was ordered to halt, the three guns to be fired, and the army to be formed in order of battle, which was instantly done upon the muir of Kinbuck, where they lay under arms all

I.

Rae's History of the Rebellion, p. 101.

3 в

night, and early next morning were formed with their front towards Dunblane.

His grace, the duke of Argyle, was informed before leaving Stirling, that the rebels were come to Auchterarder with their baggage, artillery, and a sufficient quantity of bread to serve for a march of several days, and his intelligence of all their motions was so certain, that he was aware that their watch-guns would be heard before his army had finished their encampment, which was exactly in the order, in which, if opportunity offered, he intended to attack the enemy next morning; of course, no tent was pitched, either by officer or soldier, but the officers without distinction were ordered to their several posts, and the soldiers to lie close upon their arms all night. The night was extremely severe, and the whole army was without tent or cover of any kind, the duke himself excepted, who sat upon straw in a sheep-cote, at the foot of the hill, on the right of his army. About midnight, his grace, having from his spies learned the posture of the enemy, ordered the commanding officer of the artillery to distribute as much ammunition to the troops, as, with the twenty-four round already served out, would make thirty to each man, which was done accordingly about two o'clock in the morning.

Though the muir of Kinbuck, where the rebels lay, was not more than two miles distant, yet, by reason of the hills and broken ground between them, they were not in view of the royal army. His grace, of course, ordered his army to form, on the morning of Sabbath the thirteenth, exactly as they had been encamped, judging it impossible for the enemy to carry their artillery any other way than that which he had already anticipated. At the same time, he rode up with some other general officers to the top of the hill, where the advanced guard was posted, to reconnoitre the rebel army, which consisted, though there had been a great desertion from it since leaving Auchterarder, still of better than nine thousand men, drawn up in the following order. The first line was composed of ten battalions of foot, comprising the clans under Clanranald, Glen

*Rae's History of the Rebellion, p. 102.