Part 16
Until five years before his death, Lord George still cherished the hope that France would again find it her interest to support the claims of the Stuarts. He had always considered that the support of the French would be decisive of the success of the cause. "Had the ministers of the court of Versailles, ten years ago, been persuaded that the supporting of his Royal Highness the Prince, at the beginning of his attempt, in a proper manner with the best measures they could take for the interest of their master as well as that of the King, our gracious sovereign, I think I do not say too much if I affirm that his Royal Highness would not have failed of success. I had at that time opportunities of knowing the sentiments and way of thinking of most people in Great Britain. Many, very many, wished well to the cause. Great numbers would have looked on, and would have turned to the side that had success. But there is no recalling what is passed. I believe that in France they are convinced now of the error they were in at the time. If ever they resolve to espouse the cause of the royal family it must be in earnest, and their main view must be that. Then there would be no difficulty in adjusting limits in America. I have been much longer upon the subject than I intended. Perhaps zeal has led me too far."
The period was now approaching when Lord George Murray was to close a life of vicissitude and turmoil. He died in 1760 at Medenblinck, in Holland, leaving three sons and two daughters. Upon the death of James Duke of Atholl in 1764, John, the eldest son of Lord George Murray, succeeded to the dukedom, and to the great possessions of the family. He married his first cousin, Charlotte, only daughter and heiress of his uncle, the Duke of Atholl; and in 1765 their Graces sold the sovereignty of the Isle of Man, upon the disposal of which Lord George Murray had expressed much solicitude, to the British Government. The present Duke of Atholl, who succeeded his father in 1830, is the grandson of John, third Duke of Atholl, and the great-grandson of Lord George Murray. The descendants of this justly celebrated man have, therefore, shared a happier fortune than those of many of the other attainted noblemen of his party.
The attainder was not, however, set aside in favour of the son of Lord George Murray without a petition to the King, upon which the House of Lords gave a favourable report, and the objection was overcome.[206] Besides his eldest son, Lord George left two others; James, of Strowan, in right of his mother; George, of Pitkeathly, who became Vice-Admiral of the White--and two daughters; Amelia, first married to Lord Sinclair, and afterwards to James Farquharson, of Inverness; and Charlotte, who died unmarried.
The mind of Lord George Murray was one of great original power, and less dependent upon those circumstances which usually affect the formation of character, than that of most men. He was determined and inflexible in opinions, yet cautious in action. That he was sincere and honourable there can now be little doubt. It was his consciousness of upright intentions which inspired him with contempt for the littleness of others; and with his love of superiority, his self-will and ambition, there was wrought a strong conviction of his own worth, as opposed to the hollowness of some of his party. Throughout all his letters, and in his journal, there is a strong evidence of his confidence in his own powers; of a self-sufficiency too lofty to be called vanity, but which sometimes descends to egotism. To his courage, his energy and perseverance, his military contemporaries have borne unanimous testimony. They seem entirely to have comprehended a character which the unfortunate Charles Edward could never appreciate. They felt the justness of his ascendancy, and discriminated between the bluntness of an ardent and honest mind, careless of ordinary forms, and the arrogance of an inferior capacity. As a soldier, indeed, the qualities of Lord George Murray rose to greatness: so enduring, and so fearless, so careless of danger to himself, yet so solicitous for others. As a general, some great defects may be pointed out in his composition, without detracting from his merits as a private individual.
Let us first turn to the bright side of the picture. In activity and exertion Lord George Murray has not been surpassed even by the more fortunate, although, perhaps, not greater commanders of modern times. He was indefatigable in business, and any one who desired access to him could see him at any hour, whether at meals or in bed. "On some occasions," he remarks, "I have been waked six times a night, and had either orders to write, or letters to answer every time; for as I mostly commanded a separate body of the army, I had many details that, in a more regular army, would belong to different people." Every order, even that which sent an officer to an out-post, was written by his own hand, and explained by him; every contingency that might occur in the execution was canvassed, and every objection that was suggested was answered by himself. The officers, therefore, confiding in their general, performed their duties with cheerfulness, and made their reports with exactness. There was no confusion, nor misapprehension, wherever Lord George presided. As a disciplinarian, he was pre-eminent; no army ever quitted a country with so little odium, nor left behind them such slight memorials of their march, as that of Charles Edward when it returned from Derby. The greatest excess that the Highlanders were known to commit was the seizing horses to carry their baggage, or to carry their sick;--and these it was Lord George's endeavour always to restore, even at a great inconvenience to the soldiers. Even with every precaution it was impossible wholly to restrain plundering, although the General undertook in person to control that evil. "How often," he writes, "have I gone into houses on our marches to drive the men out of them, and drubbed them heartily?"
This able man possessed another great requisite as a commander. He thoroughly understood his materials, he was perfectly acquainted with the temper and disposition of his soldiers. It was the attribute which made Marlborough unconquerable; and, in an army chiefly of Highlanders, it was one of the greatest value. By this Lord George acquired over the members of every respective Clan as much influence as each Chief separately had. His corrections were well applied, and never lessened the confidence nor affections of the soldiery. From the highest to the lowest, the men and officers had a confidence in him, which induced them to apply to him for redress in grievances, and to consider him as an umpire in disputes.
But Lord George was not only a disciplinarian; in his own person, he set the example of a scrupulous honesty. "I never," he writes in his explanation of his conduct, "took the least thing without paying the full value. I thought that I could not reasonably find fault with others in that, if I did not show them a good example."
To the sick and wounded Lord George invariably paid the utmost attention; and, under his guidance, the Highlanders, heretofore so fierce towards each other in their contests, were remarkable for a degree of humanity which was disgracefully contrasted with the barbarity of their conquerors. Such were his general attributes in his military station. Whatever doubts may have existed in the mind of Charles Edward as to the fidelity of his General, are silenced by the long and hopeless exile of Lord George Murray, and by the continued friendship of the Chevalier St. George. No overtures, as in the case of the Earl of Mar, to the British Government, nor efforts on the part of his prosperous and favoured brother, the Duke of Atholl, have transpired to show that in saving Blair, there was a secret understanding that there should be a future reward, nor that any surmise of treachery had opened a door to reconciliation. Charles, be it remembered, was under that daily, hourly influence, which weakens the judgment, and exasperates the passions. His opinion of Lord George Murray must not be accepted as any evidence against one who had redeemed the inconsistencies of his youth by the great exertions of his manhood.
Some vital defects there were, nevertheless, in this General, of powerful intellect, and of earnest and honourable intentions. His character partook too largely of that quality which has raised his country as a nation in all other countries, prudence. For his peculiar situation he was far too cautious. Persevering and inflexible, he was destitute of hope. If it be true, that he entered into the undertaking with a conviction that the cause could never prosper, he was the last man that should have been the general of an army whose ardour, when not engaged in action, he invariably restrained. All contending opinions seem to hesitate and to falter when they relate to the retreat from Derby, the grand error of the enterprise; the fatal step, when the tide served, and the wind was propitious, and an opportunity never to be regained, was for ever lost.
In private society, Lord George Murray is reported to have been overbearing and hasty; his fine person, and handsome countenance were lessened in their agreeableness by a haughty deportment. He was simple, temperate, and self-denying in his habits. In his relations of life, he appears to have been respectable. His letters show him to have enjoyed, at least, the usual means of education offered to a soldier, who entered upon active service at sixteen, or to have improved his own acquirements. They are clear and explicit, and bear the impress of sincerity and good sense.
Distrusted as he was by Charles Edward, and misrepresented by others, we may accord to Lord George Murray the indulgence which he claims from posterity in these, the last words of his vindication:--
"Upon the whole, I shall conclude with saying, if I did not all the good I would, I am sure I did all I could."
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Nisbet's Heraldry, part iii. p. 205.
[2] In the Life of the Marquis of Tullibardine, vol. i.
[3] See Nisbet's Heraldry.
[4] Nisbet's Heraldry, part iii. p. 206.
[5] See a MS. Account of the Highlands of Scotland, British Museum, King's Library.
[6] "Case of the Forfeited Estates, in a letter to a certain noble Lord. London, 1718."
[7] Wodrow's Analecta, vol. iii. p. 232.
[8] See Appendix, No. 1. for a curious original letter from Mr. Spence; for this document I am indebted to my brother-in-law, Samuel Coltman, Esq. It was in the possession of his mother.
[9] "Genuine Memoirs of John Murray, Esq. London, 1746."
[10] "Maxwell of Kirkconnel's Narrative," p. 4.
[11] Life of James Murray, Esq.
[12] See Atholl Correspondence. Printed for the Abbotsford Club.
[13] Home, p. 31.
[14] Narrative, p. 1.
[15] Life of John Murray, Esq., p. 22.
[16] See Stuart Papers, in Dr. Brown's History of the Highlands.
[17] Life of J. Murray, Esq., p. 11.
[18] This disposition, observes a modern Historian, was inherited both by Charles Edward and his brother from their mother, the Princess Clementina, who devoted herself, during the years of their infancy, to their welfare with unceasing care.--Histoire de Charles Edouard, par Amedee Pichot; tome premiere, p. 265.
[19] Life of Sir Robert Walpole, vol. ii. p. 490.
[20] Ibid. p. 492.
[21] Life of Sir Robert Walpole, vol. ii. p. 550.
[22] The Prince took off at the same time the interdict which had passed against any of Lord Orford's family appearing at his Court.
[23] Maxwell's Narrative, p. 13.
[24] See State Trials by Howell, vol. xviii. p. 661.
[25] Maxwell, p. 14.
[26] Memoirs of the Chevalier Johnstone, p. 19.
[27] Chevalier Johnstone's Memoirs. Translated from the French, p. 121.
[28] See Introduction to the Chevalier Johnstone's Memoirs.
[29] The Highlands of Scotland Described, MS. British Museum, 1748.
[30] See Forbes's Jacobite Memoirs, p. 30.
[31] One thousand is mentioned by the Chevalier Johnstone; two thousand, in other authorities. The Prince himself wrote to his father (Sept. 10th, from Perth), "I have got together 1300 men." Forbes, note, p. 32.
[32] Johnstone's Memoirs, note, p. 11.
[33] Tales of a Grandfather, 3rd Series, vol. ii, p. 284.
[34] Forbes, p. 31.
[35] Lord Mahon.
[36] Maxwell, pp. 56, 57; also Tales of a Grandfather, 3rd Series, vol. ii. p. 285.
[37] I adopt this expression of Sir Walter Scott in the Tales of a Grandfather (vol. ii. 3rd Series, p. 205), which seems to imply some doubt on the subject.
[38] History of the Rebellion. Taken from the Scots Magazine, p. 36.
[39] Life of Murray of Broughton, p. 31.
[40] Maxwell's Narrative, p. 56.
[41] Forbes. Note, p. 32.
[42] Lord George Murray's Narrative. Forbes, p. 39.
[43] British Chronologist, vol. ii. p. 397.
[44] Forbes, p. 41.
[45] Forbes, p. 42.
[46] Henderson's History of the Rebellion, p. 88.
[47] Ibid.
[48] Henderson. Maxwell of Kirkconnel.
[49] Forbes, p. 43.
[50] Forbes, p. 46.
[51] Border Antiquities, by Sir Walter Scott. No. iv. vol. i.
[52] History of the Rebellion, from the Scots Magazine, p. 35.
[53] True Patriot, a weekly periodical, December 17, 1745.
[54] General Advertiser, 1745.
[55] Forbes, p. 47.
[56] Maxwell, p. 53.
[57] The True Patriot, December 10, 1745.
[58] Jacobite Correspondence, p. 3.
[59] Ibid. p. 41.
[60] Ibid. p. 30.
[61] Jacobite Correspondence, p. 48.
[62] Jacobite Correspondence, p. 67. Duke of Atholl to Lord George Murray.
[63] Jacobite Correspondence, p. 114.
[64] See Correspondence.
[65] Henderson's Hist. Rebellion, p. 129.
[66] Maxwell.
[67] Chambers.
[68] Home.
[69] Maxwell's Narrative, p. 61.
[70] Ibid.
[71] Chevalier Johnstone, p. 42.
[72] Chambers, Hist. Rebel. People's edition, p. 49.
[73] Chambers, p. 50.
[74] Lockhart Papers, vol. ii. p. 455.
[75] Jacobite Correspondence of the Atholl Family, p. 141.
[76] Chevalier Johnstone, p. 43.
[77] Border Antiquities, by Sir Walter Scott, p. 40; also Maxwell's Narrative, p. 63.
[78] Hutchinson's History of Cumberland.
[79] Lockhart Papers, vol. ii. p. 457.
[80] General Advertiser for 1745.
[81] Jacobite Memoirs, p. 49.
[82] Forbes's Jacobite Memoirs, p. 49.
[83] Forbes's Jacobite Memoirs, p. 50.
[84] Forbes, p. 51.
[85] Forbes, p. 52.
[86] Forbes, p. 53.
[87] See Lockhart, vol. ii. p. 456; also Lord Mahon, vol. iv. p. 428, note.
[88] Maxwell, p. 67.
[89] Maxwell says 4400 men. Two or three hundred were to be left in Carlisle, p. 68.
[90] Johnstone's Memoirs of the Rebellion, p. 45.
[91] Baines's History of Lancashire, II, 68.
[92] General Advertiser for 1745-46.
[93] Maxwell, page 68.
The following is a List of the Chevalier's officers and troops, taken from the History of the Rebellion, extracted from the Scots' Magazine for 1745 and 1746, p. 60. This List makes the amount of the forces considerably greater than the statement given elsewhere.
A LIST OF THE CHEVALIER'S OFFICERS AND TROOPS.
_Regiments._ _Colonels._ _Men._ Lochyel Cameron of Loch. 740 Appin Stuart of Ardshiel 360 Atholl Lord G. Murray 1000 Clanronald Clan, of Clan., jun. 200 Keppoch Macdonald of Keppoch 400 Glenco Macdonald of Glenco 200 ------ Carried forward 2900 ------
A LIST OF THE CHEVALIER'S OFFICERS AND TROOPS--_continued._
_Regiments._ _Colonels._ _Men._ Brought forward 2900 Ogilvie Lord Ogilvie 500 Glenbucket Gordon of Glen. 427 Perth, Duke of Perth (and Pitsligo's foot) 750 Robertson Robertson of Strowan 200 Maclachan Mac. of Maclachan 260 Glencarnick Macgregor 300 Glengary Macdonald of Glen., jun. 300 Nairn Lord Nairn 200 Edinburgh John Roy Stuart (and Lord Kelly's) 450 In several small corps 1000 {Lord Elcho } Horse { } 160 {Lord Kilmarnock } Lord Pitsligo's Horse 140 ----- Total 7587 -----
[94] "My grandfather," says General Stuart, "always wore tartans; truis, and with the plaid thrown over the shoulder, when on horseback; and kilt, when on foot; and never any other clothes, except when in mourning." App. XXII.
[95] Sketches of the Highlanders, by General Stuart of Garth. Vol. II. App. XXII. Also note.
[96] See the True Patriot, under the head Apocrypha, 1745.
[97] Stuart's Sketches, II. 76.
[98] Tales of a Grandfather, iii. 398.
[99] General Stuart's Sketches of the Highlanders, p. 67.
[100] State Trials, vol. xviii. p. 686.
[101] John Sobieski Stuart.
[102] Vestiarium Scoticum, p. 100, note. Edited by John Sobieski Stuart.
[103] These observations are all taken from the Notes to the Vestiarium Scoticum, a beautiful work, extremely interesting, as being written by the hand of a Stuart, and full of information.
[104] Maxwell, p. 70.
[105] Baines's History of Lancashire, iv. 69.
[106] Tales of a Grandfather, iii. p. 98.
[107] Maxwell, p. 71.
[108] Tales of a Grandfather.
[109] Baines's Lancashire, ii. p. 71; also iii. p. 254.
[110] Gentleman's Magazine, vol. xv. p. 644.
[111] I omit Horace Walpole's exact expression, which is more witty than proper.
[112] Sketches of the Highlanders, by General Stewart, vol. ii. p. 257; also Georgian Era, pp. 56, 57.
[113] Brown's Hist. of the Highlanders, vol. iii. p. 197.
[114] General Stewart, p. 233.
[115] Ibid. p. 246.
[116] Maxwell, p. 71.
[117] Chambers's Hist. of the Rebellion; Edition for the People, p. 54.
[118] Glover's Hist. of Derbyshire, vol. i. p. 32. There is, in Ashbourn church, an exquisite monument, sculptured by Banks, and supposed to have given the notion of the figures in Lichfield Cathedral to Chantry. A young girl, the only child of her parents, Sir Brook and Lady Boothby, reposes on a cushion, not at rest, but in the uneasy posture of suffering. On the tablet beneath are these words: "I was not in safety, neither had I rest, and the trouble came." To which were added; "The unfortunate parents ventured their all on the frail bark, and the wreck was total."--A history and an admonition.
[119] Maxwell, p. 72.
[120] Extract from the Derby Mercury. Glover's Hist. of Derbyshire, vol. ii. p. 1 to 420.
[121] Glover, vol. ii. pt. 415; from Hutton's Derby.
[122] Glover, vol. ii. pt. 1. p. 240.
[123] Glover, vol. ii. pt. i. p. 421. From the Derby Mercury, the first number of which was issued March 23, 1732, by Mr. Samuel Drewry, Market-place. Appendix to Glover's Hist., 616.
[124] Probably the house wherein Lord George Murray was lodged, belonged to a member of the Heathcote family, of Stoncliffe Hall, Darley Dale, Derbyshire.
[125] Tales of a Grandfather, iii. p. 103.
[126] Maxwell, p. 73.
[127] Lord George Murray's Narrative, Forbes, p. 55 and 56.
[128] Maxwell of Kirkconnell, p. 74.
[129] Chevalier Johnstone, p. 51.
[130] Ibid. p. 52.
[131] Chambers, p. 56, and Lord Elcho's MS.
[132] Maxwell, p. 75.
[133] Maxwell, p. 75 76.
[134] Maxwell, p. 76.
[135] Chevalier Johnstone, p. 157.
[136] Lord Mahon's History of England, vol. iii. p. 445.
[137] General Stewart's Sketches, vol. ii. p. 263.
[138] Lord Mahon, vol. iii. p. 446.
[139] Tales of a Grandfather, vol. iii. p. 107.
[140] Jacobite Memoirs, p. 57.
[141] Such is the account of a writer in the Derby Mercury, see Glover's History of Derby; but this statement is at variance with Lord George Murray's Journal.
[142] The Grandmother of the Author.
[143] Tradition.
[144] Glover, vol. ii. pt. i. p. 422.
[145] Lord Elcho's MS.
[146] Glover, vol. ii. pt. i. p. 422.
[147] Maxwell, p. 80.
[148] This account is taken from Maxwell's narrative, p. 84 and 85; and from the Chevalier Johnstone's Memoirs, p. 60 and 61.
[149] Jacobite Mem. p. 71.
[150] The Hussars, under the command of Lord Pitsligo, had gone off to Penrith.
[151] Jacobite Mem. p. 72.
[152] Note to General Stewart's Sketches, vol. i. p. 58.
[153] Maxwell.
[154] Jacobite Mem. p. 62.
[155] Maxwell, p. 88.
[156] Tales of a Grandfather, vol. iii. p. 125.
[157] Jacobite Mem. p. 74.
[158] Johnstone, p. 75.
[159] This statement tends somewhat to disprove the assertion that Roman Catholic priests occupied the pulpits at Derby, made in the papers of the time. See p. 136
[160] Maxwell.
[161] Johnstone, p. 82.
[162] Maxwell p. 103.
[163] Lord Murray's Narrative, Forbes, p. 88.
[164] General Stuart, I., p. 78.
[165] Forbes; note, p. 94.
[166] Chambers's Hist. of the Rebellion, p. 70.
[167] Tales of a Grandfather, iii. 166.
[168] Forbes, p. 100. Maxwell, p. 115. See, also, for the references to the last eight pages, Lord Mahon, Henderson, Chambers, and Home.
[169] Scots' Magazine, p. 138.
[170] Atholl Correspondence, p. 163. _et passim_.
[171] Tales of a Grandfather, vol. iii. p. 176.
[172] Maxwell, p. 131; also Forbes, p. 193.
[173] Lord George Murray's Journal. Forbes, p. 166. Johnstone's Memoirs, p. 116. Maxwell, p. 133.
[174] According to Lord Elcho's account (MS.), ten or twelve only were killed, and the rest taken prisoners.
[175] Forbes' Johnstone.
[176] Grant of Rothiemurcus.
[177] Atholl Correspondence, p. 211.
[178] See vol. i.--Life of the Marquis of Tullibardine.
[179] Lord Elcho's MS.
[180] See a very curious account of the Siege of Blair Castle, written by a subaltern officer in the King's Service. Scots' Magazine for 1808.
[181] Forbes, p. 108.
[182] Scots' Magazine, p. 33.
[183] Ibid.
[184] There was one horse which seemed endowed with supernatural strength, for when, eventually, the Castle was relieved, the horse, which had been shut up without forage, was found, after eight or ten days of abstinence, alive, and "wildly staggering about" in its confinement. It was afterwards sent as a present by Captain Wentworth, to whom it belonged, to his sister in England.
[185] See Forbes, p. 108, 109.
[186] Jacobite Correspondence, p. 217.
[187] Jacobite Correspondence, p. 218.
[188] Maxwell, p. 13.
[189] Maxwell, p. 134.
[190] These circumstances will be fully detailed in the Life of the Duke of Perth.
[191] Maxwell.
[192] Colonel Ker's Narrative, Forbes, p. 140 and 141.
[193] Lord Elcho's MS.
[194] Maxwell, p. 153.
[195] Lord Elcho's MS.
[196] Colonel Ker's Narrative, p. 142.
[197] Lord G. Murray's Account, Forbes, p. 124.
[198] Lord Elcho's MS.
[199] Lockhart, vol. ii. p. 533.
[200] Atholl Correspondence, p. 221.
[201] Brown's History of the Highlands, pt. v. p. 261.; from the Stuart Papers.
[202] See Stuart Papers. Brown, _passim_.
[203] Stuart Papers; from Dr. Brown.
[204] Secretary to the Chevalier St. George.
[205] Stuart Papers. Appendix. Brown, p. 95.
[206] Chambers. Ed. for the People, p. 141.
JAMES DRUMMOND, STYLED DUKE OF PERTH.
In a history of the House of Drummond, compiled in the year 1681, by Lord Strathallan, the author thus addresses his relative, James, Earl of Perth, on the subject of their common ancestry:
"Take heire a view of youre noble and renowned ancestors, of whose blood you are descended in a right and uninterrupted male line; as also of so many of the consanguinities and ancient affinities of youre family in the infancy thereof, as the penury of our oldest records and the credit of our best traditions has happily preserved from the grave of oblivion. The splendor of your fame," he adds, "needs no commendation, more than the sune does to a candle; and even a little of the truth from me may be obnoxious to the slander of flattery, or partiality, by reason of my interest in it. Therefore I'll say the less; only this is generally known for a truth, that justice, loyaltie, and prudence, which have been but incident virtues and qualities in others, are all three as inherent ornaments, and hereditary in yours."[207]
Such praise far exceeds in value the mere homage to ancient lineage. With these noble qualities, the race of Drummond combined the courage to defend their rights, and the magnanimity to protect the feeble. This last characteristic is beautifully described in the following words: