Bonnie Prince Charlie

From France to Edinburgh

On the 5th of July 1745, Charles Edward Stuart sailed from France to Scotland on the frigate Le du Teillay to begin his efforts to claim the throne of Britain for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. Following an eventful eighteen day voyage, in which the support ship, the Elisabeth, was damaged and had to return to France, Charles first set foot on Scottish soil on the island of Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides. The day after his arrival he was met by Macdonald of Boisdale who promptly suggested that Charles returned home, to which Charles replied I am come home, sir.

On the 25th July, Charles sailed for the mainland, landing on the shore of Loch nan Uamh, the loch of the caves, near Arisaig; a cairn marks the spot where he landed. The prince then met with Donald Cameron, acting chief of the Camerons of Lochiel and also known as the Gentle Lochiel, who, despite his own misgivings, agreed to share the fate of the prince. At this point the prince was staying at Borrodale, near Arisaig, while his companions from France, the Seven Men of Moidart, stayed at Kinlochmoidart where Charles joined them before they made their way to Glenfinnan.

Initially Charles had only been joined by 150 Clanranalds; however 700 Camerons led by Lochiel soon joined them. The red and white Jacobite standard was then raised; James was proclaimed king and Charles was named Regent. A further 300 Keppoch Macdonalds and some Macleods joined, swelling the number of supporters to around 1200. In Edinburgh plans were made to stop the Jacobites before they advanced too far; John Cope left the capital to make his way to the Highlands to confront the prince and his army; and a £30,000 reward was placed on Charles head.

So the Jacobites headed east, bypassing Fort William, to face Cope on the Corrieyairack Pass. However Cope decided against facing a Highland army in their own territory and made his way to Inverness instead. So the Jacobites continued on the road to Perth, adding 400 Macphersons to their ranks along the way. In Perth, Charles appointed the Duke or Perth and Lord George Murray as joint Lieutenant-Generals. While the Jacobite army were in Perth, Cope was making his way to Aberdeen in order to sail to Leith and be in a position to defend Edinburgh.

From Perth, the Jacobites made their way to Stirling then Linlithgow before heading for Edinburgh, stopping at Corstorphine to the west of the town. From there Charles made an ultimatum demanding the surrender of the capital; a deputation from the town, aware that Cope had arrived in Dunbar, asked for more time, but Charles refused and sent Lochiel and his men to take Edinburgh instead. At 2am on the 17th September, when the Netherbow Port was opened to allow the deputation's coach out, the Camerons entered Edinburgh and by 6am had taken the town, apart from the castle. In the meantime Charles had made his way to Duddingston, where he spent the night, before making his way to the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

A month after raising the standard at Glenfinnan, Charles had managed to reach and take command of Edinburgh without any opposition. That was soon to change as, with the knowledge that Cope was making his way to the capital with 500 cavalry, 2000 infantry and their artillery, Charles knew he would have to fight his first battle. So, with 50 horses, 2500 infantry and one piece of ancient artillery, the Jacobites started their march from Duddingston to face Cope's army at Prestonpans.

Following their victory, the prince and his men returned to Edinburgh; they waited there for reinforcements before heading south.

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