the Duke of Cumberland was already
advancing, his main body was within four miles, his horse even nearer.

In the utmost haste the chiefs and officers of the Highland army tried
to collect their men. Many had straggled off as far as Inverness, many
were still overpowered with sleep; all were faint for lack of food. When
the ranks were arrayed in order of battle, their numbers only amounted
to 5,000 men. They were drawn up on the open plain; on the right, high
turf walls, enclosing a narrow field, protected their flank (though, as
it proved, quite ineffectually), on their left lay Culloden House. In
spite of hunger and fatigue, the old fighting instinct was so strong in
the clans that they took up their positions in the first line with all
their old fire and enthusiasm, _all but the Macdonalds_. By
extraordinary mismanagement the clans Glengarry, Keppoch, and
Clanranald--they who had so nobly led the right wing at Prestonpans and
Falkirk--were placed on the left. It was a slight that bitterly hurt
their pride; it was also, to their superstitious minds, a fatal omen.
Who was the cause of the blunder? This does not seem to be certainly
known. On the right, where the Macdonalds should have been, were the
Athol men, the Camerons, the Stewarts of Appin, Macleans, Mackintoshes,
and other smaller clans, each led by their own chiefs, and all commanded
by Lord George. At the extremities of the two wings the guns were
placed, four on each side, the only artillery on the Prince's side. The
second line consisted of the French, Irish, and Lowland regiments. The
Prince and his guards occupied a knoll at the rear, from which the whole
action of the fight was visible. His horse was later covered with mud
from the cannon balls striking the wet moor, and a man was killed behind
him. By one o'clock the Hanoverian army was drawn up within five hundred
paces of their enemies. The fifteen regiments of foot were placed in
three lines, so arranged that the gaps in the first line were covered by
the centres of the regiments in the second line. Between each regiment
in the first line two powerful cannons were placed, and the three bodies
of horse were drawn up, flanking either wing. The men were fresh, well
fed, confident in their general, and eager to retrieve the dishonour of
Prestonpans and Falkirk.

A little after one, the day clouded over, and a strong north-easterly
wind drove sudden showers of sleet in the faces of the Highland army.
The