| During the Second Jacobite Rising, the Battle of Falkirk was the
last noteworthy Jacobite success. After turning back from the London
campaign for winter, the Jacobite Army returned to Scotland and besieged
Major General Blakeney in Stirling
Castle. Lieutenant General Henry Hawley led his troops from Edinburgh
to relieve Blakeney. On 17 January 1746 he engaged the Jacobites on
Falkirk Moor, but his cannons were not able to be effectively drawn to the
battle field.
He relied on cavalry to rout the Jacobite troops, but his dragoons'
charge failed under a severe volley from the Highlanders and they
retreated, in turn causing the royal troops to flee the field.
Around 350 royal troops were killed, wounded or missing, and some 300
captured. The Jacobite losses were around 50 dead and 70 wounded.
However, the Jacobite army was destroyed several weeks later at
Culloden
Moor, near Inverness.
An account of the Battle of Falkirk Muir, the final
major military victory for the Jacobites. By Geoff Bailey, keeper of
archaeology and local history at Falkirk Museum.
The Battle of Falkirk Muir was fought on a sleety afternoon on 17th
January 1746. After days of manoeuvring the forces finally clashed on
the common muir of Falkirk, just a mile to the south-west of the town.
The Jacobite forces had been in the town since just after Christmas –
the longest time they had been in any one place, and their leader, Lord
George Murray was familiar with the terrain. They had abandoned it just
two days earlier.
About 8,000 of them faced a roughly similar number of Hanoverian or
government troops under General Henry Hawley – making it the largest
battle of the ‘45. The government troops had made a tented camp just
west of the town (now Dollar Park) and the population of central
Scotland had waited expectantly. Indeed many of them came to witness the
encounter that they knew must ensue and the town was flooded with
intended spectators – food brought a high price. They came from as far
away as Beith in Ayrshire.
The battle commenced about 3.45pm, just as the light was fading and the
main engagement lasted a mere 20-30 minutes. Watching from the steeple
in Falkirk an observer noted the time when he saw the first puffs of
smoke from the discharge of the muskets, and then when he saw the rout
of the government left wing.
The action began when the three ranks of Macdonalds, forming the right
wing of the Jacobites, started to advance up the hill towards the
government dragoons – a procedure not recommended in the military terms.
In response the cavalry, almost one thousand strong, broke into a gallop
and charged the Macdonalds - the seething mass of horse flesh looked
like it would carry all before it.
Lord George was standing just in front of his men and had place them on
their honour not to discharge their firearms until he gave the signal.
Now he raised his own musket and a lone shot disturbed the air. That was
the signal and was quickly followed by a peal of gunfire, starting on
the right and proceeding along the line. At the same time there was a
sharp gust of wind and the smoke blew into the faces of the frightened
horses, Spooked, they fled in all directions. Dragoons broke over the
Glasgow militia which had been placed to their rear to support them.
The militiamen shot their own cavalry in order to stop them riding over
them. Chaos and disorder ensued and Lord Hume, their commander was in
Linlithgow several hours before his men! In the centre of the line the
dragoons burst through the first rank of the Jacobites. Then through the
second and were brought to a halt by the third rank.
Fierce hand to hand fighting took place. The Highlanders fell on their
backs and pierced the stomachs of the horse with their dirks, spreading
their entrails. The chief of the Clanranalds was trapped under a dead
horse and was saved by a clansman. For a while it looked as though the
dragoons would win the day. Then the Farquharsons formed a chevron and
moved forward to plug the gap. Their chief was at the point of the
formation and was injured. “Three men to carry their chief to safety”
cried the second in command. “Three men to carry their father into the
thickest of the battle” he retorted! The tide was turned. The Macdonalds
were elated and chased the fleeing enemy.
The Camerons on the Jacobite left heard the shouting and wanted their
share of the glory. They advanced with loud yells, swords in hand, and
the Hanoverian infantry decided they had seen enough. Colonel Munro was
left behind in the retreat and was cut to pieces, as was his brother, a
doctor, who went to render him first aid. But three Hanoverian regiments
stood their ground and fired volley after volley into the flank of the
advancing enemy. Conceiving it to have been a trap, the left wing of the
Jacobites retreated. The rout of the Hanoverian foot was checked by
Lt-Col Cholmondeley and the army was able to fight a rearguard action.
The weather worsened and it was imperative that the Jacobites should not
spent a freezing night in the open. Murray declared that he would either
sleep in Falkirk or paradise that night – not that there’s much
difference! Falkirk was a walled town, one of very few in Scotland, and
the Jacobites approached it in three columns. Lord John Drummond, in
charge of the column advancing up the Cow Wynd had a horse shot from
under him and was hit in the arm. After severe street to street fighting
it was 7.30pm by the time that Bonnie Prince Charlie was able to enter
the town.
The Hanoverian camp was ransacked and gunpowder and equipment captured.
Many firearms were picked up from the battlefield. It was whilst
cleaning one of these that young Glengarry was shot on the High Street
when a Highlander pointed a pistol out of an open window in order to
clear the charge gunpowder. Unknown to him it had been double loaded and
the son of Glengarry happened to be walking past was mortally wounded.
His death caused a major rift.
Murray, Drummond and the Prince were commemorated in a beautiful stained
glass window which is now on display in the Howgate shopping centre in
the town. Back in 1996 the protection of the battlefield was
incorporated into the Council’s local plan – one of the first in
Scotland. The following year an application to opencast the site was
rejected!
Part of the battlefield is owned by Falkirk Council and forms South
Bantaskine Park, but most of it is in the ownership of Callendar Estate.
These two, along with the 1745 Society, the Scottish Battlefield Society
and Falkirk Community Trust got together a couple of years ago and
agreed to establish a trail around the battlefield highlighting the main
elements in that initial encounter – the charge of the dragoons, the
charge of the Camerons, the killing of Colonel Munro and his brother,
the rearguard action, etc.
Funds were obtained from the Forestry Commission, Falkirk Environment
Trust, the Heritage Lottery, etc. As well as upgrading the footpaths
three interpretation panels and numerous information posts were erected
(see Guy Wedderburn’s material). The whole was formally opened on
Saturday 20th January 2018 when the landscape was blanketed in snow. At
the same time a plaque was placed on the High Street to commemorate
young Glengarry.
|
