ing able
to send orders on all exigencies.

The cannon of Prince Charles was first heard. It was returned with a
firing from the enemy of grape shot, which did great execution.

The Highlanders, who were forbidden to move until the word of command
was given, suffered that fire very impatiently. Some of them threw
themselves flat on the ground, and a few gave way and ran off.[193] The
artillery of the enemy was very well served; that of the Jacobites was
managed by common soldiers, the cannoniers belonging to one battery
being absent. The contest was in every way unequal; yet the brave
insurgents, although ready to drop with fatigue, seemed to forget all
their weariness and hunger when the enemy advanced.

At length, after some preliminary manoeuvres, the Prince sent orders
to Lord George Murray to march up to the enemy. It seemed, indeed, high
time to come to a close engagement; for the cannonading of the enemy,
which was directed chiefly towards the place which the Prince occupied
among the cavalry, was very destructive; yet still Lord George delayed
the attack, judging, as it is supposed, that the adversaries were still
at too great a distance, and that the strength of his men would be
exhausted before they could reach them. There appears also to have been
another reason for the delay; Lord George had, on his right, a
farm-house, and some old enclosure walls, which the enemy now occupied;
and he is conjectured to have been waiting until the Duke of
Cumberland's army came up to these walls, which would prevent him being
flanked by the dragoons, who were, he observed, mostly on the left. But
the Duke did not advance. The Highlanders, who were impatient at the
delay, called out loudly to be led on; and at last he gave the command
to attack.

His orders were obeyed. As his line began to move, the enemy began a
smart fire, which played chiefly upon the Atholl men, and was kept up by
a detachment of Campbells, who were stationed behind the enclosure
walls. It was the custom of the Highlanders to give a general discharge
of their fire-arms, and then to rush, sword in hand, upon their foes:
and the only chance of a victory for their party that day, was a general
shock of their whole line at once; for the fury and valour of these
northern warriors produced results almost incredible. Unhappily, several
circumstances destroyed this advantage. The two armies were not exactly
parallel to each other, the right of Prince Charles