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'I told them I knew the ground myself
and had a gentleman or two with me who knew every part
thereabouts; there was, indeed, a small defile at the
east end of the ditches; but once that was past, there
would be no stop, and though we should be long on our
march, yet when the whole line was past the defile,
they had nothing to do but face left, and in a moment
the whole was formed, and then to attack.' |
According to Lord George, the Prince and the other officers
O'Sullivan was with the reserve were 'highly pleased' with
his plan, and after the meeting was over and out-guards
had been posted the army settled down for the rest of the
night.
The field it occupied had been under pease, recently cut,
and using the straw as bedding the officers and men lay
down in rank and file, in order to be ready to march at
short notice. For supper they ate whatever food they had
managed to bring with them, and the Prince, in high spirits,
and forgetting his unfortunate brush with Lord George, was
'great at Cup & Can' with him.
During the meeting of the Jacobite leaders, Robert Anderson,
the son of a local laird, had sat silent. He had been too
modest to take part in the discussion of Lord George's plan
of attack, but afterwards sought out his friend. Colonel
Hepburn of Keith, and told him that he knew of a much less
roundabout approach to the royal army's position. He had
often made use of this track when snipe-shooting in the
morass, its chief disadvantage being that at one point it
passed through a narrow defile, which could be easily guarded
by the enemy. Hepburn was much impressed by Andersen's suggestion,
and advised him to put it before Lord George Murray, adding,
with considerable insight, that his lordship would take
it better from Anderson himself than through an intermediary.
Acting on Hep- burn's advice, Anderson awakened Lord George,
who was equally impressed by his suggestion, as were the
Prince and the rest of the officers, and orders were sent
to Lord Nairne to march at 2 a.m. and rejoin the Highland
main body.
It seems strange that there is not the slightest reference
to Ander- son's intervention in Lord George's Marches
of the Highland Army beyond the following not entirely
accurate statement: 'At midnight the principal officers
were called again, and all was ordered as was at first proposed.'
Why, then, it may be asked, should it have been necessary
to hold a second meeting ?
Nairne and his men arrived in good time, and shortly before
4 a.m.
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