Clanlands: Whisky, Warfare, and a Scottish Adventure Like No Other

by Sam Heughan

Murray did his best to create a decent army, but on the eve of the Battle of Prestonpans (17th September 1745) no one knew how they’d perform. It’s extraordinary to think that when they charged out of the mist and caught the raw British troops unawares, for most of the 2,500 Highlanders this was their first battle. Victorious at Prestonpans, no one can doubt the Jacobites’ courage, but we also shouldn’t doubt their luck. At Prestonpans they didn’t face disciplined artillery fire using canister shot (similar to a giant shotgun being fired at close range). The victory swelled numbers in Charles’s army to 5,500 men intent on marching to London and crowning their ‘true king’ but the rebels’ artillery was rubbish and they didn’t have enough cavalry to mount a single charge. The Highland Charge made up for this to a great extent. Who needs cavalry when you have hundreds of screaming Highlanders brandishing their fearsome broadswords and targes? They were the ‘shock’ troops of their age, especially trained to carry out sudden assaults. By the time they reached Falkirk on 17th January 1746, they had learned how to fire a withering volley of musket fire into the charging horsemen of General Hawley, adding the Battle of Falkirk Muir to their battle honours. When they crossed the border into England they were met by much support – the ringing of bells, lighting of bonfires and people illuminating their houses to welcome them at Manchester. The Jacobite numbers continued to swell (alt...