Page:English Historical Review Volume 37.djvu/371

 1922 IN THE ' FORTY -FIVE ' 363 at work to make good the defences, only regretting that he was not strong enough by a display of force to overawe the highlanders from joining the enemy. 1 Fortunately for Fort William three weeks passed before the clans were mustered and Prince Charles raised his standard at Glenfinnan on 19 August. That very day Cope started from Edinburgh on his march northwards. The march, undertaken against Cope's own better judgement, was to have a decisive effect on the campaign. It gave the highlanders the opportunity to slip southwards, and so diverted them from their more imme- diate objective in the highland forts. Had they not been thus drawn away, it is probable that they would have achieved a more real advantage than the brief occupation of Edinburgh and the showy, but as it proved ineffective, march into England. The first stroke in the rebellion was the intercepting of the two companies of the Royals on their way to Fort William. The rebels had taken up a position in the pass at Highbridge, about six miles from the fort, where they successfully stopped all messengers and cut off communications with Fort Augustus and Inverness. When the Royals reached this point on 15 August the enemy opened fire on them from the hills on either side ; though the English soldiers behaved well, they were overwhelmed by superior numbers and forced to surrender. 2 Cameron of Lochiel and Keppoch, who were in command of the highlanders, were appointed to attack Fort William. But though they knew of the weakness of the garrison, they seem to have thought it prudent to abstain ; if the garrison was ill-found, the rebels on their part had no cannon suited to such an enterprise as the siege would have entailed. Nevertheless, the seizing of the highland forts had been the first objective of Prince Charles's military advisers, and the information received by the officials of the English government represented that attacks were intended on all the forts. Major Went worth, who was in command at Fort Augustus, had written on 13 August to Sir John Cope : The people in general in this neighbourhood seem mightily rejoiced to find the Chevalier is so near them, and within these two days all the gentle- men of any figure in this part of the world are all gone off. One Glengarry said yesterday, before he left home, to the blacksmith that was shoeing his horses that these Barracks should be in his possession before Saturday night. I have taken all possible care. . . . Our men have very hard duty, having both the old and new barracks to defend, but are in very good spirits. Here is a very good train of artillery, but I can't find one man that knows how to point a gun or ever saw a shot fired out of a mortar, there being only two gunners and they not much accustomed to it. 3 1 Ibid. nos. 59, 63. Ibid. nos. 92, 96, 97. Ibid. no. 79.