The Jacobite Cause
Upon joining the army, he was made Lieutenant-General, but Charles' secretary John Murray of Broughton intrigued against Murray and insinuated he was a traitor . Despite this, Murray exerted himself successfully at Perth, bringing discipline and order to his new army, winning the confidence of the Highland levies with whose ways he was familiar, resolving a dispute over who was to have the place of honor in the right of the line, and used his influence to prevent the exactions and arbitrary interference with civil rights which others had counseled Charles to implement. By 21 September, Murray led the Jacobite left wing in person and was practically commander-in-chief of the force, having ordered the successful attack at the Battle of Prestonpans on his own initiative.
Murray disagreed with Charles' plans to invade England and counseled against them. Nevertheless, when the decision was made, he prevailed upon the Prince to march for Cumberland which hilly ground would be more favourable to highlander tactics, rather than an open assault against General Wade, whose army was posted at Newcastle. Murray conducted the Siege of Carlisle but when the town was surrendered on 14 November, he resigned his command on the grounds that his authority had been undermined by the Prince, and obtained permission to serve as a volunteer in the Atholl levies. The army however, were unhappy with his replacement, the duke of Perth, and so Charles quickly reinstated Murray, who commanded the army on its march towards Derby. Whilst occupying the city on 5 December, Murray urged the Prince to retreat, citing the lack of support from France and English Jacobites as factors against the success of the invasion. Murray now commanded the support of the council and so the retreat was agreed upon, but Charles was furious at the decision and never forgave Murray. Despite this apparent lack of confidence, Murray's aide-de-camp, James Chevalier de Johnstone has been quoted as saying that, "had Prince Charles slept during the whole of the expedition, and allowed Lord George Murray to act for him according to his own judgment, he would have found the crown of Great Britain on his head when he awoke." His "Memoire of the Rebellion 1745-1746" lays the blame for the failure on Charles' refusal to follow the advice of Murray.
During the retreat, Murray commanded the rear-guard, a difficult task considering the proximity of government forces both to his rear and flank commanded in part by the Duke of Cumberland, as well as the negative attitude of Charles. At the Clifton Moor Skirmish, Murray turned and fought, enabling the army to reach Carlisle without loss of stores or war material, allowing them to advance to Stirling by the third of January 1746, where Charles laid siege to Stirling Castle with the aid of reinforcements from Perth. Murray (who had counseled against this move) however, was kept busy with battle near Falkirk where he defeated General Hawley. Sickness and desertion were beginning to take their toll on his force however, and with the advancement of Cumberland, retreat to the Highlands was a necessity. Charles was forced to acquiesce, angering him yet further, and causing him to accuse Murray of being a traitor. Murray's failure to capture the Atholl stronghold, Blair Castle, did nothing to refute this, though there seems to be little other than rumour and circumstance to back this claim up.
In April, the Jacobite army was near Inverness and the prince decided to give battle to Cumberland, despite the exhaustion prevalent throughout the army. He took up a position on the left bank of the Nairn river at Culloden Moor, despite Murray's counsel being to set up position on the opposite bank. The Battle of Culloden was the death blow to the Stuart cause, with the clansmen being routed by the British Army. Cumberland told his troops on the following day that Murray had given orders that they were to be shown no quarter, however seemingly original copies of Murray's orders were found in Cumberland's papers and contain no such injunction.
Following the defeat, Murray conducted a remnant of the Jacobite army to Ruthven with a mind to organise further resistance. Charles however, had decided to abandon the cause and Murray was issued a letter dismissing him from the prince's service. The general replied by upbraiding Charles for his distrust and mismanagement.
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