gary, Sir John Maclean, and Campbell of Glenlyon; on the right there were three squadrons of horse, viz. the Stirling squadron, which carried the standard of the pretender, and two of the marquis of Huntly's; on the left, were drawn up the Perthshire and Fifeshire squadrons. The second line was composed of three battalions of the earl of Seaforth's, two battalions of the marquis of Huntly's, the battalions of the earl of Panmure, marquis of Tullibardine, lord Drummond, and Strowan, all commanded by their respective chieftains, except Drummond's, which was commanded by Strathallan, and LogieAlmond; the earl Marischal's squadron was on the right, and that of Angus, on the left of this line. Of their left, his grace had a tolerable view, but their right lay concealed in a hollow, and being masters of the brow of the hill, the length of their lines he was unable to ascertain.

In the meanwhile, Marr held another council of war, consisting of all the noblemen, gentlemen, general officers, and heads of the clans, where it was voted to fight the enemy, though severals pressed their returning to Perth, and there resting till the spring.

After having observed their motions for some hours, without being able to comprehend their designs, or determine his own mode of attack, Argyle at last perceived, that some of their advanced guards turned suddenly, fronting towards the height of the muir where he stood, and that while their right attacked him in front, their left intended to take him in flank, the severity of the frost having rendered the ground, which the preceding evening was a sufficient security against any such movement, perfectly passable. In consequence of this circumstance, a change in the disposition of the royal army became necessary, to effect which, his grace came down from the hill about eleven o'clock; but notwithstanding the strict orders that had been issued the night before, that no one should stir from his arms, it was mid-day before the officers could put their divisions in marching order; and, being informed by his spies from the enemy's camp, that the whole body of the rebels was to attack him on the low ground in front, he resolved to wait for them there, as the most effectual way to prevent their

attempt on Dunblane. Observing, however, that the rebels, though they seemed at first upon a full march to meet him on the low ground, wheeled all at once up the hill towards the right of his position, he directed his troops to face about to the right in the following order: viz. the first line, six battalions of foot in the centre, with three squadrons of dragoons on the right, and the same number upon the left. The second line was composed of two battalions of foot in the centre, one squadron of dragoons on the right, another on the left, and one squadron of dragoons behind each wing of the horse. In the first line, the duke himself commanded on the right, general Witham on the left, and general Wightman in the centre. Having made these dispositions, Argyle moved up the west side of the hill, to gain the height before the enemy should attack him. Scarcely had he cleared the narrow plain on the top of the hill, and advanced about half a mile straight east, when he fell in with the rebels-who after leaving their lines, had fallen into disorder while ascending the other though more sloping side of the hill, and were now forming themselves into battle array, their battalions at due distances, and their colours displayed. He was there hedged in with the steep and stony hill of Kippendavie close to his rear, and the enemy within. pistol-shot of his front. He formed, however, almost instantly, the five squadrons of horse, and four regiments of foot on the right, who had been put into a little disorder by the ascent of the hill, and some marsh ground not yet rendered solid by the frost, but the other four regiments of foot, and five squadrons of horse on the left, commanded by general Witham, coming last into the field, and being put in some disorder by changing their ground, were longer in being formed.

The right of the royal army, and the left of the rebels, being as we have said, within pistol-shot at their first interview, were instantly engaged. The Highlanders began the action with all their accustomed ardour, and their fire was little, if at all inferior to that of the best disciplined troops; but colonel Cathcart being ordered to stretch to the right, and take them in flank, a movement which he executed in the most gallant manner, gave an immediate and decisive turn to the contest on that part

of

the field, the left wing of the first line, and the whole second line of the rebels, being totally routed in less than half an hour, the duke pursuing them, though amounting to upwards of five thousand men, with only five squadrons of horse, as far as the river Allan. General Wightman with three battalions of foot, advanced as fast as he possibly could to support him. They made, however, so many attempts to rally, and of course, stood so many repeated attacks, that before they were driven beyond that river, a distance of about three miles, as many hours had elapsed, and when by crossing it, the rebels were so completely broken as to be beyond the hope of recovering themselves, and the duke had resolved to pursue them as long as the light of day permitted, he was suddenly recalled by the circumstances of there being no appearance of the division of his army, that acted under the command of general Witham, and a large body of the rebels being strongly posted behind him. Witham's division in advancing, had unfortunately come unawares upon a body of Marr's foot, that lay concealed in a hollow way, full in their front, while a party of horse on their left were ready to take them in flank. In this situation, the foot were attacked, before they could be formed, by a party of Braidalbine's men, supported by the clans, a great number of them cut to pieces, and the remainder driven in among their own cavalry, whom they likewise threw into confusion, and had the cavalry of the rebels upon the right, fallen in at the same time, that part of the royal army had been cut off to a man. Happily there was not among the rebel commanders as much skill or experience as to take advantage of the circumstance, and the broken battalions were brought off with much less loss than might have been expected; but finding themselves cut off from the other part of the army under Argyle, and unable to keep the field against the superior numbers with which they had to contend, they retired slowly towards Dunblane, and thence to Corntown, at the end of the long causeway that leads to the bridge of Stirling, where they arrived about three o'clock in the afternoon. Here they pretended to take post for defending the road to Stirling, though had the rebels had as much common sense as to have pursued them, Stirling itself would scarcely have been a post sufficiently strong to have induced them to undertake its defence.

The right of the rebels, which had remained all this time inactive, seeing now, by the retreat of the left of the royal army, the field empty, joined the clans, who had defeated and driven it off, and crossing the field of battle to the number of four thousand men, ascended the hill of Kippendavie, where they stood with drawn swords, without attempting any thing, for upwards of four hours, to the astonishment of the king's troops, who, for an hour and a half, were retreating round the foot of the hill, and so near them, that they could not have so much as tumbled down a stone, or fired a pistol, without killing some of them. This inactivity on the part of the rebels, has been variously accounted for. It has been supposed, that from the nature of the ground, they were unacquainted with the real state of the army; but finding their left defeated, took the troops that retreated so closely by them at the bottom of the hill, for an ambuscade, intended to draw them down from their advantageous position. By others, it has been attributed to want of cordiality among the rebel commanders, Glengary refusing again to engage with his people, from chagrin at the previous inactivity of some of his coadjutors.* Whatever was the motive for that inactivity, it was the salvation of the royal army, which otherwise, might have been totally annihilated. Argyle, when he was apprized by general Wightman of his situation, instantly wheeled round, halted and formed the men he had, scarcely one thousand, the Greys on the right, Evans's on the left, the squadron of Stair's next them, and the foot in the centre, and advanced towards the enemy, four thousand strong, as we have already stated, encamped on the hill of Kippendavie. At the foot of the hill, he took post behind some fold-dykes, and waited for the rebels to descend the hill to the attack. In place of attacking him, the rebels, however, drew off their rear ranks to the right, and moved towards Ardoch, when finding his army too fatigued to attack them, Argyle proceeded to Dunblane, to which place he recalled general Witham, and the army lay

Among the causes which the rebels assigned for their misfortune, was the conduct of Rob Roy, who, in the absence of his brother, commanded the Macgregors, and on the day of battle, kept aloof, waiting only for an opportunity to plunder. Campbell's Life of John, Duke of Argyle, p. 205.

on their arms all night, expecting to renew the combat next day."*

Next morning, Monday the fourteenth, Argyle went at break of day with the piquet guard to the field of battle, in order to view the enemy, and finding them gone, left the piquet on the place under colonel Kerr, and returned to Dunblane, whence he immediately marched the army to Stirling, with fourteen of the enemy's colours and standards, among which, was the royal standard, called the restoration, six pieces of cannon, four waggons, and a great number of prisoners. The number of the rebels slain in the action, has been variously reported from five to eight hundred. Amongst them were the earl of Strathmore, Clanronald, and several other persons of distinction. Panmure, and Drummond of Loggie, were among the wounded.

On the part of the royal army, there were slain two hundred and ninety; wounded, one hundred and eighty-seven; taken prisoners, one hundred and thirty-three, making a total of six hundred and ten. Among the wounded, was the lord Forfar, who was shot through the knee, and received sixteen other wounds, of which he died at Stirling, on the eighth of December following, the earl of Ilay, who received a ball in his side, general Evans, who received a sword cut in the head, general Hawley, who was shot through the body, and among the volunteers, Mr. Charles Cockburn, son to the lord justice clerk, who was shot through the arm. Colonel Hammers, and captain Armstrong, aid de camp to the duke of Argyle, were killed.+

Though this battle reflected no credit upon either of the commanders, and was in itself, to all appearance, as far from being decisive as any battle that history has recorded, yet it was followed by consequences, that do not always wait upon victories of the most splendid character. Indeed, with some collateral events, it may truly be said to have broken the heart of the rebellion; for from that day the rebels never dared to face the troops that were opposed to them, and, for any thing that was afterwards done, they might as well have separated

Rae's History of the Rebellion, p. 308. Life of John, Duke of Argyle, pp. 191, 192. Patten's History of the Rebellion, p. 186.

Rae's History of the Rebellion, pp. 509, 310.