STUART, Prince Charles Edward (1720-1788)
The grandson of the Catholic James
VII of Scotland and II of England, son of James Stuart, the "Old
Pretender." Also known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, the Young Pretender and
the Young Chevalier. He led the Jacobite rebellion of 1745-46 to regain the
thrones of Scotland and England for his father, the thrones which had been lost
to the Protestant William of Orange in 1689-90.
When Charles was on the move south with his army in September, 1745 he wrote to the Provost of Glasgow demanding a contribution of £15,000 towards his campaign. The city had been prospering under the Hanovarian Kings and the Town Council saw no reason to assist the return of the Stuarts. The Provost wrote back to say that he could take no action in support of the Prince due to the antipathy of the citizens towards his cause, and that he was more afraid of the Glasgow mob than the Highlander Army. A lesser contribution was made to placate the Prince, but efforts were also made to raise a force to withstand his army. This proved unnecessary when Charles made for Edinburgh instead, that city falling to him
When finally forced to retreat from Derby, Charles returned north towards Glasgow via Annan and Dumfries. This was strongly Presbyterian country and Charles was not well received. He had already exacted contributions from the area en route to England, and he was met with obvious hatred on his return. He became increasingly despondent when he learned that his cause in Scotland was not fairing well. Both Edinburgh and Inverness had fallen back into "loyal" hands, Scotland was becoming increasingly resistant to his rebellion, and the British Navy cordon was preventing any possible support from his French allies.
Glasgow's Town Council still wanted no truck with the Prince, but some of his troops arrived in Glasgow on Christmas Day of 1745 while the Prince was still at Hamilton. He arrived with the rest of the army the following day and took up residence at the Shawfield Mansion in the town. It is reported that some of his approximately 6,000 troops took up residence around the St. Andrew's Parish Church which was under construction at the time. Their horses were supposedly kept within the building precincts to protect them.
Charles demanded that the town refit his army. Many of the Highlanders had gone for weeks through the winter snows without shoes. Their clothing was little better than rags, having succumbed to the severe weather. Glasgow was ordered to provide each of the troops with a cloth coat, two shirts, a pair of shoes, a pair of stockings, a waistcoat and bonnet.
While this was being undertaken, Charles put on a show of pomp for the Glasgow gentry, probably to compensate for the sad state of affairs into which he had fallen. There were some who still supported the Jacobite cause who attended the Prince, and amongst these may have been Clementina Walkinshaw who was to figure so importantly in his later life.
When the army was kitted out Charles took the unprecedented decision to the review the army, and it was arrayed on the Provost Haugh. This was originally part of the Barrowfield estate which was later to become part of Glasgow Green in 1792. It would appear that many of the Highlanders had taken the opportunity to slip away once they had been given their new clothing, so it was a rather depleted army that formed up in front of Charles on 30th December, 1745. Indeed, it was outnumbered by the crowd which had come to spectate. During the review, Charles was supposed to have stood beneath a thorn tree which for generations after was known as Prince Charlie's Tree and protected by a wooden railing. There is now no trace of this.
One eye-witness of the event described the Prince's demeanour; "He had a princely aspect, and its interest was much heightened by the dejection which appeared in his pale fair countenance and downcast eye. He evidently wanted confidence in his cause, and seemed to have a melancholy foreboding of that disaster which soon after ruined the hopes of his family for ever."
One of the Prince’s supporters, Maxwell of Kirkconnell, is reported to have commented that Charles held the review "to let the world see with what a handful of men he had penetrated so far into England, and returned almost without any loss."
Soon thereafter, Charles learned that the force he had left at Carlisle had had to surrender to the Duke of Cumberland or be slaughtered. He determined to proceed to Stirling, to meet with fresh forces which had been raised, and lay siege to the castle there. With this intention, he marched with his army out of Glasgow on the 4th January, 1746 never to return. The fate of the Stuarts was finally decided at Culloden on the 16th April, 1746.
One memento of those tumultuous days which has survived and which is retained by the People’s Palace is the hand-written demand of the Prince to the town for financial support.
Forster, Margaret (1973); "The Rash Adventurer; The Rise and Fall of Charles Edward Stuart." Chaucer Press, Suffolk.
© 2005 Gordon Adams
