of one of the
columns. He never took dinner, but ate a hearty supper; and then,
throwing himself upon a bed, slept until four in the morning, when he
arose, to prosecute the fatigues of another day, fatigues which youth, a
sound constitution, and, above all, a great degree of mental energy,
enabled him to endure.

Wigan, which the Chevalier's forces now approached, had been, in the
time of Queen Elizabeth, agitated by religious differences; and the
Queen's Commission for promoting the ordinances of the Reformed Church
had been there met with a vigorous resistance. During the civil wars,
this town, both from its vicinity to Latham House, and from its
attachment to Charles the First, took a distinguished part, and obtained
the characteristic designation of the "faithful and loyal town of
Wigan." After the insurrection of 1715, the oaths of supremacy and
allegiance to the reigning family had been, in vain, strongly urged upon
the inhabitants of Lancashire, and a large mass of landed estates were,
in consequence, put in jeopardy; although it does not appear that the
owners were dispossessed of their estates, or that any other use was
made of the register taken of all the landed properties in the county,
except to assist the magistrates in the suppression of the insurrection
in the north. Nevertheless, the expectation which Charles might
naturally entertain of a general rising in Lancashire was not realized.
"Nothing," observes Mr. Maxwell, "looked like a general concurrence
until he came to Manchester."[104] This was remarkable, for Manchester
had been the head-quarters of many of the Parliamentary party in
Lancashire during the civil wars; whilst Preston and Wigan had both been
royalist boroughs. But a singular alteration had taken place in the
people of Manchester, who had changed from Roundheads to Jacobites.[105]

During the whole of the preceding march the Highland army had levied
the public revenue with great accuracy; but no extortion, nor any
attempts at plunder, had disgraced their cause, nor reflected on Lord
George Murray as their General.[106]

At Manchester, the first organized force raised in England for the
Chevalier joined Charles Edward. It was a regiment of two hundred men,
commanded by Colonel Townley, a gentleman who had been in the French
service; and was called the Manchester Regiment. It was composed of
young men of the most reputable families in the town, of several
substantial farmers and trades