The Forty-Five: Battle of Prestopans

The Battle of Prestonpans was fought September 21, 1745, during the Forty-Five Rising (1745-1746).

Armies & Commanders

Hanoverians

With the War of the Austrian Succession raging, the bulk of British military strength was deployed to the Continent leaving only around 6,000 men in Britain. Fighting the French, the British and other allied forces were defeated at the Battle of Fontenoy in May 1745. In these circumstances, Charles Edward Stuart, grandson of the deposed King James II, sought to land in Scotland with a goal of restoring his family to power. Arriving at Glenfinnan on August 19, he raised the standard and called his father's supporters to join him.

Gathering around 1,200 men, Charles began moving south toward Edinburgh augmenting his force as he moved. Opposing this movement were Hanoverian government forces led by Sir John Cope. Possessing around 4,000 men in Scotland, Cope's forces were inexperienced and lacked training. Alerted to Charles' actions, Cope moved north but refrained from attacking as he believed the Jacobite army to be larger than his own. Marching south, Charles captured Perth and swept aside those Hanoverian forces that he encountered. Entering Edinburgh without a fight, he proclaimed his father king and established himself at Holyrood Palace.

Moving to Inverness to resupply, Cope then marched east to Aberdeen where his men boarded ships. Sailing south, Cope's force landed at Dunbar on September 17 and 18 and began moving west towards Edinburgh. Camping at Haddington, they learned on September 20 that the Jacobites were moving against them. Halting his advance, Cope deployed astride the main east-west road just north of Tranent and near Prestonpans. With his left anchored on a marsh, his line extended north toward the sea. Learning of this, Charles' commander, Lord George Murray, began moving men to the high ground of Falside Hill just south of Tranent.

In response to this, Cope adjusted his lines through the day until they faced south. Cope's line possessed a scratch force of artillery as well as dragoons covering the flanks. This new position was fronted by a marsh known as the "Meadows." Soft ground, Cope believed that his men had covered the one passage across, a wooden waggonway which ran north to Cockenzie harbor. That night, Charles met with his officers to devise a plan of attack. As the ground prevented a frontal assault, Murray suggested a wide flanking maneuver to the east which would strike Cope's left.

Agreeing to this plan, the Jacobites soon altered it when a local, Robert Anderson, informed them of a difficult but usable track that ran across the far end of the Meadows near Riggonhead Farm. This information was quickly utilized as it would allow the flanking maneuver to traverse a shorter route. Moving out around 4:00 AM on September 21, the Jacobites swung around Cope's left to form for battle. Approximately an hour later, Hanoverian forces spotted the enemy's movements. Quickly responding, Cope shifted his entire army to face east to meet the threat.

Forming in two lines, the Jacobites surged forward against the Hanoverian troops. Overlapping the Hanoverian right, the Jacobites forced the dragoons on that flank to flee. A similar result occurred at the northern end of the line. Overrunning Cope's artillery, Charles' forces flanked the Hanoverian infantry. Closing to close range, the Jacobites fired a volley from their muskets and charged forward with their swords. With his position rapidly collapsing, Cope attempted to rally a small force, but was unable to halt the Jacobite tide.

As the Hanoverians began fleeing the field, small groups, such as one led by Colonel James Gardiner, continued to offer resistance until being cut down or forced to retreat. All told, the fighting lasted less than ten minutes. The government troops fled west and south towards the safety of Berwick. Sweeping across the field, the Jacobites rounded up between 1,400 and 1,500 prisoners. When he finally reached Berwick, Cope possessed only 170 men out of an original 2,300.

In the clash at Prestonpans, Cope's command lost between 150-300 killed, 400-500 wounded, as well as 1,400-1,500 captured. Jacobite losses are estimated at around 30 killed and 70 wounded. Though pleased with the victory, Charles forbade celebrations and took great effort to care for the wounded and captured. The victory at Prestonpans breathed life into the Jacobite Rising and allowed Charles' supporters to press the French for additional aid. This led to the Treaty of Fontainebleau in October which formalized a military alliance between the Jacobites and France.

Successful at Prestonpans, Charles' army pushed south into England. Advancing as far as Derby, they then began a withdrawal back to Scotland. Rushing troops back to Britain from the Continent, the Hanoverian government soon dispatched forces to crush the rising. Meeting at the Battle of Culloden in April 1746, troops under the Duke of Cumberland routed Charles' army effectively ending the conflict. In the wake of the defeat at Prestonpans, Cope was court-martialed but exonerated with the board stating that the failure was largely due to the men of his command fleeing.

Selected Sources