Battle of Falkirk Muir - Battle

Battle

Hawley was encamped at Falkirk, and showed no signs of moving. Thus, on the morning of 17 January, the Jacobites planned an offensive. The army moved cautiously towards Falkirk, avoiding the main road and heading for the Hill of Falkirk which overlooked Hawley's encampment below. With General Hawley established at nearby Callendar House, the government army was taken by surprise.

At 1:00 pm an officer informed Hawley of the Jacobite approach. Hawley refused to believe the message and did not verify the information for himself. Instead, he remained at Callendar House, 2000 yards behind his camp, and only sent instructions for his troops to put on their equipment as a precaution. By 2:00 pm the Jacobite attack was imminent and a second messenger from Major General John Huske was sent to Callendar House. Finally aware of the seriousness of the situation, Hawley arrived at his camp hatless and at the gallop.

Led by the dragoons, the Hanoverian army rapidly filed south on Maggie Wood's Lane past the Bantaskin House and up the slope of the Falkirk ridge. As the leading elements reached the summit, they could see the Pretender's army bearing down on them from the northwest. Marching across the front of the Highlanders, the dragoon regiments reached a bog on the far side of the rise and faced to their right. The infantry began to form to the right of the dragoons, facing west. About this time a storm struck the area with very heavy rain, hindering deployment and wetting the black powder cartridges. In the subsequent action one out of four muskets missed fire.

From left to right, the Hanoverian front line consisted of Ligonier's (13th), Cobham's (10th) and Hamilton's (14th) Dragoon Regiments. Continuing the first line were Edward Wolfe's (8th), Cholmondeley's (34th), Pulteney's (13th), The Royal (1st), Price's (14th) and Ligonier's (59th) British Regiments of Foot. In the second line stood Blakeney's (27th), Munro's (37th), Fleming's (36th), Barrel's (4th) and Battereau's (62nd) British foot regiments. Last to arrive, Howard's (3rd Old Buffs) regiment took position in a third line. A few hundred yards behind the dragoons, the Glasgow militia were drawn up. The Argyll militia took position on the far right of Hawley's line. Two cannon became stuck in a bog. When the battle began, the English gun crews were still trying to free them.

The Jacobite army marched up and deployed in three lines, facing east. In the front line, from right to left were the MacDonalds, Camerons, Frasers, MacPhersons, Mackintoshes, Mackenzies, Farquharsons and Stewarts of Appin. Posted in the second line were the regiments of Lord Lewis Gordon, Lord Ogilvy and the Atholl Brigade. In the third line were small units of horsemen, plus a unit of French regulars (Irish Picquets from the Irish Brigade). The Prince failed to appoint a left wing commander, though Lord George Murray took charge of the right wing. Murray dismounted and led the three MacDonald regiments on the extreme right.

Because Hawley's army formed up so hurriedly, its dispositions were unusual. The dragoons on the left wing were directly opposed to the Highland right flank foot soldiers. The left of the British infantry faced the Highland army's center. Three foot regiments on the Hanoverian right completely overlapped the Jacobite left, but there was a ravine separating the two sides. The ravine prevented the British units from flanking the Stewarts of Appin, but it also protected Hawley's right.

At 4:00 pm, Colonel Francis Ligonier received orders to charge the Jacobite right with the British dragoons. Hawley apparently believed in the superiority of cavalry over the Highlanders. The Jacobites waited until the dragoons trotted into pistol range then let loose with a crushing volley. "Eighty dragoons fell dead upon the spot." A handful of the British horsemen closed with the Highlanders, but most fled. Cobham's dragoons rode north between the infantry battle lines. The other two regiments bolted to the rear. One company of the Glasgow militia was ridden over and scattered by Hamilton's fleeing dragoons. Those horsemen who continued to fight fell victim to an unusual tactic. The Highlanders dropped their muskets and crouched on the ground, using their dirks to kill the horses and stabbing the riders as they fell. Another Highlander tactic when confronted with cavalry was to aim their swords at the horses head rather than the rider. A horse wounded this way will tend to circle and render the rider an easy target.

The complete rout of the cavalry compromised the entire Hanoverian position. Murray tried to restrain the MacDonalds, but they spontaneously rushed after the fleeing horsemen. The Highland right and center fired one volley, flung down their muskets and dashed toward the Hanoverian infantry, claymores in hand. Attacked in front and flank, with rain now beating in their faces, Hawley's left-wing infantry fired an ineffective volley and ran for the rear, carrying away the second line as well.

Shielded by the ravine in their front, only the government right flank regiments held firm. Price's and Ligonier's regiments were joined by Barrel's from the second line. General Huske marched them a short distance uphill where they fired into the flank of the Highlanders who were in pursuit of the panicked Hanoverian left and center. Soon they were joined by Cobham's rallied dragoons, who tried to attack the Jacobite rear. This attack was foiled by the Irish Picquets (French regulars) who had been held in reserve.

Most of Hawley's army was routed while most of the Jacobite army was scattered in pursuit or pillaging the dead. The Atholl Brigade remained intact and Murray took charge of it and some MacDonalds. Huske soon withdrew with his three foot regiments, leaving the field to the Jacobites.

It was now dark and the storm was growing fiercer; confusion ensued and Murray lost sight of the enemy. The Hanoverian survivors retreated east towards Linlithgow, with Grenadiers pulling Hawley's remaining cannon as the artillery horses had been lost. Murray had won a huge victory but did not realize it yet. It was not until the next morning that some 300 Hanoverian soldiers were seen lying dead in the rain.