Ossian Collection > History of the Highlands and of the Highland clans > Volume 3

180 HISTORT OF THE HIGHLANDS.
men, all in the highest spirits. The Macdonalds, the Camerons, and
the Stuarts, were now twice as numerous as they were when the High-
land army entered England, and Lord Ogilvy had got a second battal-
ion, under the command of Sir James Kinloch, as lieutenant-colonel,
much stronger than the first. The Frasers, the Mackintoshes, and Far-
quliarsons, were reckoned three hundred men each, and in addition to
these, the earl of Cromarty, and his son. Lord Macleod, had also brought
up their men.*
Conceiving himself in a sufficiently strong condition to give battle to
the Highlanders, General Hawley began to put the troops he had as-
sembled at Edinburgh in motion towards the west. His force amounted
to upwards of nine thousand men, of whom thirteen hundred were
cavalry, and he might in a few days have increased it considerably by
the addition of some regiments which were on their march to join him.
He had also reason to expect the immediate arrival in tlie Frith of
Forth of a body of six thousand Hessians who had embarked at Wil-
liamstadt on the first of January, by which accession his army would
liave been almost doubled ; but impatient to acquire a renown which
had been denied to Cope, his predecessor, of whose capacity he had been
heard to speak very contemptuously ; Hawley resolved not to wait for
his expected reinforcements, but to seize the laurels which were in ima-
gination already within his grasp.
Accordingly, on the morning of the thirteenth of January, the first
division of tlie royal army, consisting of five regiments of foot, together
with the Glasgov/ regiment of militia, and Hamilton's and Ligonier's,
(late Gardiner's) dragoons, all under the command of Major-general
Huske, left Edinburgh and marched westward to Linlithgow. Hearing
that preparations had been made at Linlithgow for the reception of these
troops, and that provisions and forage had been collected in that town
for the use of Hawley 's array. Lord George Murray left Falkirk at four
o'clock the same morning for Linlithgow, with five battalions of the clans
tor the purpose of capturing these stores. He was joined on the road by
Lord Elclio's and LordPitsligo's troops of life-guards, whom he had order-
ed to meet him. Before sunrise he had completely surrounded the
town, and as Lord George had been informed that Huske's division was
to enter the town at night, he called his officers together before march-
ing into town, and having told them the object for which they had come,
he desired that they would continue ready to assemble in the street on a
moment's warning, in order to march wherever they might be directed.
After taking possession of the town, and apprehending a few militia. Lord
George sent forward some patroles on the road to Edinburgh, to recon-
noitre while the Highlanders were engaged in seizing the articles pre-
pared for the royal forces ; but they had scarcely been an hour in
town when these advanced parties discovered a body of dragoons advanc«
• Kirkconnel MS.