My Lord, No. CCCCXXXVIII. The Earl of Sutherland to the Lord President. Dunrobin, Septbr 11th, 1745. FROM the time Sir John Cope came to Inverness, I had 200 men readie to joine the King's forces. Of this I acquainted Sir John; and also, that I would join him myself with 40 more, if His Majesty's service requir'd it. I acquainted him, at the same time, that the few arms I had must be kep't for the defence of the country against some wrong-headed neighbours, whose inclinations to rebellion I had strong reasons to suspect; and desir'd that he would order arms for the men he might have occasion to call from this countrie. I had his answer by Major Mackay only last night, that he had left some arms at Inverness, and that he desired your Lop to distribute them as His Majesty's service required. Your Lop knows the attachment of my family to His Majestie and the present establishment; and, as the arms that are in the north are under your direction, I hope your Lop will put me in a condition, by arming my people, to render effectual service to His Majesty. And as very bad consequences may arise from sending unarmed. men from here to Inverness by land, & as the season of the year renders their going by sea in open boats precarious, I wish your Lop would be so good to send the arms here, with such a quantity of ammunition as they may have occasion for in the way. As the common course of post is stopt, we know nothing here of what is a doing to the southward. Pray, my Lord, assist us in this article all you can. Political lyes and common reports, of which we have plenty here, have their influence. I have the honour to be, P.S. I am this moment inform'd, that some people from Caithness, with arms, are to pass through this countie, under pretence of guarding their cattle: how am I to deal with them? My Lord, No. CCCCXXXIX. The Lord President to the E. of Sutherland. Culloden, 12 Septr 1745, 11 in ye forenoon. LAST night the letter which your Lop did me the honour to write me of the 11th was deliver'd: it expresses properly your Lop's zeal for the support of the Gov', which must give satisfaction to every one that wishes well to it; & your readyness to defend it. Your Lop's reflection, that nothing can be done for that end to purpose without arms, is very just; & it is to supply that want, that 6000 stand of arms are sent from the Tower. These arms are actually arrived at Leith; & a good number of them would have been here before this time, had Sir J. Cope been at Edin'. So soon as he arrives there, he has promised to send them; and the moment that happens, your Lop shall have notice. We are at present in a sort of tranquility in this country, as the rebells are gone southward: how long that quiet may last is uncertain; & therefore what the King's dutifull subjects in this country have to do, as it appears to me, is, to 3 F keep keep their men in readiness to act on the shortest warning, for the security of the Gov', & for their own protection, untill the expected arms arrive, & a proper occasion offer of doing more effectuall service. The orders for giveing out the arms, are with the Goy' of In', who shall have my advice when they come, & when anything to the purpose may be done with them, to put as many of them as may be necessary in your Lop's hands, whose affection to the Govern' is on the best grounds so unquestionable: as for your neighbours to the northward, if I do not mistake the men, they are too wise, even were they all disposed, to venture to force a passage whilst your Lop is in the way. If they send droves to the southward, in the circumstances in which things now are, they must have arm'd men attending them; but then should the numbers of these men be so great beyond the occasion, as to give just reason to think that the driveing the cattle is only a pretence to colour the sending to the south a body of arm'd men, your Lop will be justify'd for hindering them to pass: but I am hopefull no such thing will be attempted. With respect to intelligence, I know little more than the prints will inform your Lop of. Only 5 battallions are actually sailed from the Dutch coast, & the rest are embarking. The dispositions for their reception were actually made at Leith last Friday; & it's more than probable some of them are there before this time. G1 Cope arrived at Abda, as I have reason to think, from a letter dated from Turreff, which I received from him, as last night. He has found shipping enough in that port for transporting his troops southward, should that be his choice; but whether that will be his course, or if he will wait at Aban for the Highlanders, or if he will follow them by land, must depend very much on their numbers & situation, wh I at present know nothing particular about. La George Murray has, much contrary to expectations, put himself at the head of the Atholl men, & join'd the rebells; which probably will encress their numbers, but will not add much to their fighting men. Cap Macky, hearing of Glenbucket's being in his way with 2 or 300 arm'd men, struck off from Elgine to the Brugh, & from thence follow'd Sir John Cope by sea. I am, with perfect respect, D' Sir, My Lord, Your Lop's most ob* & most humble serv2, &c. No. CCCCXL. The Lord President to Sir John Cope. Culloden, 12 Sept. 1745, 10 at night. I HAVE your's from Cullen of the 8th, & from Turreff of the 10th. I hope you have received mine, acquainting you with the march of Capt. Macky's Comp' Monday morning last. He had directions to avoid the force which I had some intelligence of, if it was superior; & accordingly, meeting at Elgin with a report that Glenbucket lay in his way with 200 men, he turn'd to the left to Brugh Sea, & ship'd himself off from thence in a large open boat. By this time I am hopefull he is with you. Monday night Capt. Sutherland, with 54 men, & Tuesday night Capt. Mac Leod with his comp compleat, arrived at Inverness: they had arms deliver'd out to them; & it was proposed they should march tomorrow morning, together with the other men of L. Loudon's who are here, with the same precautions which were to be observed by Mackay; but observing, by your letter of the 10th, that every thing was to be ready for you at Abd", & concludeing that whether the rebells turn'd their whole force against you, or took the the party of marching streight Southward, you probably would make use of the shipping that was at your hand before they could arrive; & on the other hand, weighing the inconvenience of looseing at this juncture so many raw men, who may be made usefull if Glenbucket should surprise them with the numbers you mention, & which reports aggravate, it was thought adviseable to suspend their march till orders from you (which may come to-night, or to-morrow, in answer to my last) arrive, or till more certain advices of Glenbucket's numbers & motions determine. In the mean time, they are ready at an hour's warning. Since my last, I have heard nothing with any certainty from Perth; it is confirm'd, that Lord George Murray is at the head of. the Atholl men, who are forced into the service; but the numbers which my last letter mention'd are said to exceed the truth, In this country, we are at present very quiet, & probably will be so untill you drive the gentry back upon us; tho' abundance of fools are at work, to instigate men to play the fool. I have great assistance at present from MacLeod, who at my desire came from the Isle of Sky, alongst with his son, & is now my fellow labourer; what we aim at is, to league for our mutuall defence; & in case we are supply'd with the arms, and credit, or the money expected, to try what may be done to put the most speedy end to the present commotion. It was reported, that Cluny was come back to Badenough, in order to raise his men ; but after the most exact inquirey I have been able to make, this seems not to be true; but, on the contrary, that he continues to be kept prisoner, & that none of his men have join'd the rebells. The courier who I dispatched to Ed' last Sunday was 7-night got thither safe, delivered his letters, & is come back. He brought some letters for you, & some others who attend you. As they carried nothing that could in any probability be of service to be known here, I abstain'd from looking into them; & as they make too considerable a bundle to be easyly conceal'd, at the same time that it's not likely they contain much of consequence, I have committed them to this bearer, with the best directions I could think of. At the same time that I have folded this up in a smaller volume, the more easily to be conceal'd. I have a letter from the Advocate, who took the liberty to break up mine to the Mar. of Tweeddale, but there is nothing worth mentioning in it. It is unnecessary further to remind you of our arms & money, when you get to the Southward. I am intirely your's, &c. Tell L. Loudon, that S Al. MD. has made him a present of 13 very handsome men for his comp. No. CCCCXLI. The Lord President to Sir J. Cope. Culloden, Fryday, 13 Sept. 1745, 10 at night. Dr Sir, THIS morning the packet from the Marquis of Tweeddale, with the commissions, came safe to my hands; tho' the fellow run considerable risques, which he avoided skilfully. The Advocate writes me word, that the seals were broke up before they came to him, he does not know how. The burden of disposeing the commissions is a great one, & which I very unwillingly undertake; but since necessity urges, I shall do according to the best of my judgement. I cannot omit the Clans that have here 3 F 2 tofore tofore shew'd zeal ; & it seems to me to be undispensably necessary to repose confidence in those who, tho' thought formerly against us, have on this occasion absolutely refused to give any countenance to the Rebells, & have used their best endeavours, & in severall instances with success, to prevent the frenzy of others; & that being the case, I do not know whether there will be room for what La Loudone seems to point at, the giveing 3 comp among the Munros, who march'd with you; because tho' they have merit as being the first, nay the only kindred that have hitherto broke the ice, yet so signall notice taken of them, when the number of commissions to be given out will not permitt of the bestowing in any thing like proportion on other kindreds more powerfull, may create a kind of jealousy, & provoke Highland vanity in such sort as to produce indifferent consequences. Besides that, I imagine that if you were to consult with Capt Munro, of Culcairn, they would be contented with less. However, Sir, if you, upon weighing what I have represented, shall think otherwise, they shall have their commissions; & I shall save commissions for 3 caps, 3 lieutenants, & 3 ensigns, 'till I receive your directions. They should be sent in blanks as they are, but that the volume would endanger the conveyance. Now we have the comm" it will occurr natureally to you, that without arms & money they can be of no use. I think of makeing the comp hundreds for the present exigence; but they must be fed as well as arm'd; & bank notes have at present no credit here. The arms you can supply us with when you come to Leith, but money & credite must come from London. I therefore hope, when you can safely do it, you will let them know at London the necessity there is of remitting some money hither, if they would have any good done; & of employing some clever arm'd vessell, of whatever size, to keep the correspondence open; in which case money could be had for bills, & a smaller quantity of cash will answer the purpose. A note in this volume for the Marq' of Tweeddale will be deliver'd to you, which you will forward. Beg of Loudon to write to Lord Stair, to tell him I have got his letter; that I will do what lies in me to answer his intentions; & that he shall hear from me by the first safe conveyance. Be so good also as to tell the Advocate, I have received his. I am intirely your's, &c. P.S.-If you are embark'd before this reach Abd". it will, I hope, be sent after you. No news since I wrote last night. I have a letter from Glengary, since he left Atholl, dated at Fort Augustus, lamenting the folly of his friends. My Lord, No. CCCCXLII. The Lord Advocate to the Marq' of Tweddale.-Above date. DESIRE to have this note safely convey'd must be the excuse for the minuteness of the volume. This morning your Lop's packett came safely to my hands, throw severall hazards, with com for 20 independent comp". The trust reposed in me by his Maji & his Min" does me great honour; but then the burden is so great, that I certainly would decline it, if the exigency left time to remonstrate; but as somewhat must immediately be done, I have no choise left, but to act according to the best of my judgment; & if I should happen to err, I hope the blame will be laid on that, & not upon my heart, which I will venture to assert is well disposed: it is my present purpose to distribute such of these comm" as I shall give out among those clans who, on occa sion of the last rebellion, show'd their adherence to the protestant interest; without neglecting such other clans, as, tho' adversary at that time, have on this occasion behav'd themselves well beyond the expectation of most people, & thereby very much provock'd the rebells, from whom they withhold two thirds of the force which they flatter'd themselves they could have carry'd from the North Highlands. The comp I propose to make up to a hundred each for the present juncture; &, that they may be quickly raised, I propose to take the recommendation of the Officers from the Chiefs of the clans that are to raise the men. It is possible I may make some mistakes; as we have lately seen instances, in L' Loudon's reg', of men who accepted of comm before the insurrection, desert to the enemy. But it is improbable, that after the rebellion is afoot, & men have actually taken their sides, any one will accept of a commission without meaning to answer the end of it; and should it in any partar case turn out otherwise, the worst consequence is, the loss of the arms, & that must be risqued when a much greater good is in view. I need hardly tell your Lop, 'that tho' I look for a good effect from those commissions, yet they can be of no service without arms and pay. Arms I have wrote for to Sir John Cope, who may send them from Leith; but unless we are supply'd with money & credite from London, I cannot tell how the service can be perform'd. Bank notes have no currency with us at present, & coin is miserably scarce. Besides that, the little that is, is lock'd up, because, the communication being stopt, trade is at a stand, & no one will part with the little money he is possest of for a bill. In these circumstances, some cash must be sent ; & if, with that, there was a clever arm'd vessell order'd to attend, & to carry dispatches between this & Leith, or London, the credit which might be order'd would become more effectuall, and orders might readily be received, & intelligence given. Your Lop, it is true, in your's of the 17th of August, mentioned that if I laid out any money for intelligence, or otherwise, Mr Pelham would repay it ; & I accordingly laid out small sums without hesitation; but when the question is to feed such a body of troops in the present condition of the country, I really cannot find the money. When the pay of these comp comes to be put on any regular foot, George Ross, a person known to your Lop, who formerly attended me, will be a proper person through whose hands it may come. Every thing is at present quiet in this part of the country. All we can do is, to prevent debauching men into the rebells' service. Sir, I am, with perfect respect, your Lop's Serv', &c. No. CCCCXLIII. The Lord President to Glengarry. C. 14 Sept 1745 LAST night the letter you did me the honour to write me of the 12, from F. Augustus, was deliver'd to me. It gave me much satisfaction when I first heard of your prudent resolution of waiting on the D. of Atholl, in whose comp Sr J. Cope told me he saw you; & on the other hand, I do assure you, it gave me no small pain to learn, that your freinds, many of whom I know, & had a great regard for, chose the party in which they are now engaged. I wish with all my heart they had consulted your honour & their own safety more than they have done. I am glad you are got safe home, without being much hurt with the fatigues of so rough a journey as you have had; & tho' it would add to my satisfaction, to have the honour of seeing you in this |