Battle of Prestonpans Continued From Page One Printed with permission of Thomas Carroll Woods, webmaster of Prestonpans After 1719 its English supporters lost interest in the Jacobite cause, but it lived on in Scotland. In 1745 Stuart fortunes suddenly revived, and for a time there was a genuine prospect that a Stuart might once again sit on the English throne. The circumstances were these. The Old Pretender had two sons. The elder was Charles Edward, the younger Henry (later a Cardinal). Charles Edward was a complete contrast to his unlucky and depressing father. He was cheerful, adventurous, and energetic; he was clearly a born leader, and he looked like a prince of royal blood. With England heavily involved in a war on the Continent, and thus denuded of troops, 1745 was an obvious time to pick for a bid to power. In the preceeding year the French had assembled an invasion fleet at Dunkirk, with every intention of using it, but it had been, once more, destroyed by storms. This was a setback, but Charles was undeterred. He knew in his bones that he could and must win. The battle of Fontenoy on 11 May 1743 confirmed his opinion; the English were now in desperate trouble on the Continent, and all he had to do was to show his face in Scotland and the country would rise to support him. Troubles began early. His little convoy was intercepted at sea and, when he landed in the Outer Hebrides on 2 August 1745, he had only seven supporters with him. On first landing, his reception was daunting, for none of his anticipated supporters wished to join him. He went on to Moidart, gaining a few, and then to Glenfinnan. At Glenfinnan he raised the standard, declared his father was the rightful King of Scotland, and moved on to Edinburgh. Glenfinnan had brought him a thousand supporters, and he was soon joined by another three thousand. With these he moved forward and took Perth. Thence he went to Edinburgh where the city was gained without a fight. It looked - and not only to him - as if success was in his grasp. The best of the English army was overseas and all that could be mustered to meet him was an army of less than three thousand, six battalions in all, of which two were very raw and new. Commanding them was the incompetent Sir John Cope who had already failed to intercept him on the road to Edinburgh. Cope had subsequently embarked his army and landed them at Dunbar, whence he had marched towards Edinburgh. Charles, full of heady triumph, was now moving south - and the two armies met, on 20 September 1745, at Prestonpans, East Lothian. Cope, who had no alternative but to wait and see what his steadier regiments could do to a Highland charge, deployed his army between Preston Grange and Seaton House. He suspected (rightly) that Prince Charles had artillery and would be relying on traditional weapons. By setting out his troops with their rear to the sea, but not too close, he had arranged that they could not be outflanked; ahead of him lay ditches and hedges which would take the edge off the fiercest and longest charge, he surmised. As the two armies closed, the highlanders moved on to the higher ground around Tranent and took a long careful look at their opponents. The sight was not encouraging. Knowing their deficiencies in arms, without artillery, and mainly armed with broadsword or makeshift pike, the prospect of a successful charge over rough and unknown ground looked doubtful. Impetuous though they were, they were not suicidal. Charles Edward, however, was burning for action. He rode restlessly here and there, hoping to hit on a plan which would convince the more cautious of his advisers. Luckily for him he encountered a man named Anderson, who lived nearby and was a keen Jacobite. Anderson gave Charles Edward a vital piece of information: it was that a path ran through the bog which was partially protecting Cope's front. If the Young Pretender used this path he could take his whole army round to Cope's eastern flank, where, because of the protection of the bog, the latter's dispositions were thinnest. In the early hours of the next day, long before first light, Charles Edward had taken his army (it numbered only 2,500) along the path and close to Cope's position. At Riggonhead farm they were spotted by one of Cope's outposts and the alarm was given but it was too late for them to be checked here. Cope's army was facing south and the best he could do was to turn it and face east and give battle where the Highlanders chose to offer it. The latter, moving briskly towards the coast at Cockenzie, turned west along the line of the present B6371. Their achievement in crossing such rough country so easily is not now so well appreciated, as the long ditch which could have been such a formidable obstacle has been largely filled in; the presence of a road, a railway track, pylons, and a huge slag heap makes an appreciation of the 1745 terrain difficult though not impossible. As the sun came up, and shone directly into the eyes of Cope's soldiers, he was still trying to make the most of his new position. On his right he had his artillery, all too close to the Jacobites. Behind were his raw dragoons whose task was to intercept any attack and break it up. Four hundred yards separated the two armies and, as the Jacobites checked their positioning, their whole army was gradually edging forward, closing the gap. The battle began haphazardly. A range-finding shot from the English line found a target on the Scottish left. A man screamed. It was like a command to the Scots. They had not marched all this way to be picked off at will by the English; now they charged. The fury and impetus surprised even their own leaders. The English gunners got off five rounds and were overwhelmed. The dragoons behind, commanded by Colonel Gardiner, a brave old campaigner, saw the fate of the gunners ahead of them and without waiting for orders decided to avoid it for themselves. Gardiner tried desperately to rally them. Unfortunately they were in an excellent position for a cowardly dash from the battlefield, leaving their comrades in the lurch. On such a small area such a disaster was all too obvious, even to Cope's centre and left, which were now facing the fury of the Highland charge. Here again there was no chance to make use of their muskets before they too were overwhelmed; it was short bayonet against long pike and whirling claymore. Cope's men were like a skilled boxer who is trying to fight off a heavy puncher who is inside his guard. As they reeled back, the Macdonalds on the highland right, a little late to begin but devastating now they were on the move, swept diagonally into Cope's army crumpling up its left wing as they went. In minutes the battle was lost, but not over. The remainder of the dragoons also tried to escape but now found their way blocked by fallen or fleeing infantry. The Jacobites too were among them, unhorsing them and slashing them down with claymores. Colonel Gardiner, still fighting, fell with a dozen wounds. Cope made a desperate effort to rally some of the dragoons but the best he could do was to take some 400 men out of battle up the B1349, which was later mockingly christened 'Johnny Cope's road'. Inevitable English losses were as heavy as the Scots were light. Five hundred of Cope's army were killed and another 1,500 taken prisoner. In contrast, the Scots had less than fifty killed and about seventy-five wounded. Much of the slaughter must have taken place where the A198 is crossed by the B1349, as this is where burial pits were later found. There are various memorials to the battle in the town. There is a memorial to Col. Gardiner which may be seen from the road, although it is on the other side of the parallel railway line, and there is another monument on the A198 junction immediately behind Cockenzie Power Station. Back This article was used with permission of Thomas Carrol Woods, webmaster of Prestonpans Links: Prestonpans History of Prestonpans Preston Tower