Ascanius; or, the Young Adventurer

The intention is to create a fully transcribed library of all the books or memoirs written by the participants in the 1745-6 Jacobite Rebellion. These books are delivered in a unique format with links to any and all information I have found (including place name resolution using my map of the Jacobite Rebellion). These links are automatically populated by my Historical Timeline software.

All of these books are out of copyright and transcribed (some are only scanned) by Dave Waddell and are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. You are free to do with them, for personal use, whatever you wish. They tell a story of the lives of ordinary people - a people that went on to populate and create great nations such as Canada, Australia, and America among others. In reading their story, you may be reading your own. Also try the NEW List of Rebels database which is now completed from the SHS publication A List of persons concerned in the Rebellion transmitted to the Commissioners of Excise by the several supervisors in Scotland in obedience to a general letter of the 7th May 1746; and a supplementary list with evidences to prove the same. With a preface by the Earl of Rosebery and annotations by Walter MacLeod (1890). This database is in the process of being augmented with data from Arnot and Seton's SHS publication Prisoners of the '45 published in 1928. Finally, see the NEW Maps of the '45.

Dave Waddell

January 9th, 2010 (Latest content on March 12, 2011 )

P.S. I personally want to thank the Scottish History Society (SHS) for bringing so many of these publications to light since 1887. I also want to thank and the for making so much of our rich history available. For help with reading 18th Century texts see our reference page.

Lord George Murray and his orders for Culloden from the Cumberland Papers in the Royal Archives.

Henry Ker of Graden.

Cluny Macpherson.

Æneas MacDonald, brother to Kinlochmoidart, the Paris Banker and one of the Seven Men of Moidart. Unfortunately, he was an unwilling participant in the rebellion and eventually "sold out" to the Duke of Newcastle on Oct. 26th, 1746. He did not die in the French Revolution, as many books report.

The Examination of John Walkinshaw on October 3, 1746 at the Cockpit in Whitehall Palace by Thomas Waite, Treasury Secretary for the Duke of Newcastle.

Act for a company trading to Africa and the Indies, 26 June 1695
Act of Settlement, 1701
Act of Union, 1707
The Disarming Act, 1746
Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746
Act of Proscription 1747

Edward Linn of the Royal North British Fuziliers.

Donald Mackay of Acmonie, Glen Urquhart – Jacobite volunteer soldier.

Donald Campbell of Airds, Highland officer with the Government army.

A Relic of the Forty Five from the diary of James Miller of the Manchester Regiment.

March of the Highland Army from the Day Book of James Stuart.

Jacobite Rumours by Henrietta Tayler from a letter of Angus MacDonell addressed to his cousin, Coll MacDonell of Barisdale.

Robert Colquhoun, fourteenth of Camstradden.

Battle of Clifton Moor as described by Thomas Savage to his friend Richard Partridge and also by Tom Tinkler To His Cousin.

JACOBITE CAMPAIGN MANUSCRIPTS.

Transcription of a Letter from Sir Everard Fawkener (secretary to the Duke of Cumberland) to Henry Pelham (Prime Minister of Great Britain) dated at Inverness 18th April 1746. Also announcing the arrival of Lord Cromarty and his son Lord McLeod on board the Hound sloop (Captain Dove).

Transcription of a Letter from Major-General Humphrey Bland, Fort Augustus [Inverness-shire, Scotland], to Henry Pelham (Prime Minister of Great Britain); 9 Jun. 1746.

Disposal of the La Seine ship that carried Lord John Drummond.

Coming soon:

Letters to the Laird of Stonywood and A letter to the Right Honourable the E---l of T---q---r (Earl of Traquair).

Extracts from the diary of the reverend John Bisset.

Various letters from The Highlanders at Macclesfield in 1745 by Walter Biggar Blaikie (WBB) and published in the Scottish Historical Review VOL. VI., No. 23 for April 1909 page 225. Following on from Part 1 in Scottish Historical Review VOL. V., No. 19 for April 1908 page 285.

A LETTER to the Author of the National Journal.

Coming soon are Cordara's History of the expedition, originally written in Latin and translated into Italian by Antonia Gussalli in 1845 as La spedizione di Carlo Odoardo Stuart negli anni 1743- 44- 45- 46

The Trial of Archibald Stewart Esq; Lord Provost of Edinburgh and his friend, David Hume's, brilliant but anonymous pamphlet A true account of the behaviour and conduct of Archibald Stewart, Esq.; late Lord Provost of Edinburgh printed in his defence.

In July 2010, I was able to read the, almost impossible to find, A Jacobite Miscellany by Henrietta Tayler produced by the Roxburghe Club in 1948. This book has been transcribed and presented to the Club for republication as it offers insights previously unknown, which, because of its limited circulation, have remained hidden for almost sixty years.

Ship's Log of the DuTeillay from Une Famille Royaliste, Irlandaise et Francaise, et Le Prince Charles-Edouard(English translation of the book) and the transcription.

Jacobite Ciphers or cyphers.

Itinerary of Prince Charles Edward Stuart from his landing in Scotland July 1745 to his departure in September 1746. By Robert Forbes, Walter Biggar Blaikie (WBB). Corrected in W.B. Blaikie's, The first news that reached Edinburgh of the landing of Prince Charles, 1745, in SHR 23, 1926, p. 161-170. Also by WBB is Origins of the 'Forty-Five.

The greatest collection of Jacobite memories in The Lyon in Mourning Volume One,Two, and Three by Robert Forbes.

Also by Robert Forbes is Jacobite Memoirs of the Rebellion of 1745 and A plain, authentick, and faithful narrative of the several passages of the Young Chevalier writing under the pseudonym Philalethes in 1750.

The Lockhart papers - Volumes One and Two.

Henry Fielding's pamphlet (published in October 1745 shortly after the government defeat at the Battle of Prestonpans) is called The History of the Present Rebellion In Scotland. Also his A DIALOGUE BETWEEN The DEVIL, the POPE, AND THE PRETENDER is published.

The Memorials of John Murray of Broughton: sometime secretary to Prince Charles.

Narrative by John Mackenzie, LORD MACLEOD eldest son of the Earl of Cromartie.

David, Lord Elcho's A Short Account of the Affairs of Scotland in the years 1744, 1745, and 1746 (with maps [larger download]).

Neil MacEachen's narrative.

James Maxwell of Kirconnell's narrative.

Chevalier de Johnstone's memoirs volume One (I also have Two and Three but they're less relevant to the story dealing with Johnstone's escape to the continent and his subsequent life in Canada).

This is the story of the Highlander's greatest weapon - the basket-hilted broadsword - commonly known as an Andrew Ferrara.

Prince Charlie's Pilot Donald MacLeod - The Faithful Palinurus.

Dalilea manuscript. Originally published in 1873 in The Edinburgh monthly magazine [afterwards] Blackwood's Edinburgh ..., Volume 114 page 408 as A true and real state of Prince Charles Stuart’s miraculous escape after the battle of Cullodden.

The Plundering of Cullen House by the Rebels.

The Siege of Blair Castle by Lord George Murray.

The very difficult to find Young Juba by M. Michell (pseudonym for Michael [Michel, Michele] Vizazi [Vizzosi]- Charles' valet) is in progress.

Mémoire d'un Écossais by Donald "The Gentle Lochiel" Cameron, XIX Chief of Clan Cameron, April 1747.

The Memoirs of Sir Robert Strange Knt., engraver and of his brother Andrew Lumisden Volume I.

From the French periodical Revue rétrospective Volume 3 Jul-Déc 1885 are the letters sent by the marquis d’Eguilles, sometimes known as the French Ambassador - Correspondance inédite du marquis d’Eguilles. He was arrested after the Battle of Culloden and was under parole first in Inverness then Carlisle and finally returning home via Berwick, Newcastle, and Flessingue in Holland with a prisoner exchange in May 1747. He sorely missed his family and friends and wrote prolifically about the rebellion and the conditions afterwards.

A compleat history of the rebellion, From its first Rise, in 1745, To its total Suppression at the glorious Battle of Culloden, in April, 1746 by James Ray of Whitehaven.

THE JACOBITE REBELLIONS (1689-1746) by J. PRINGLE THOMSON, M.A.

Dougal Graham (b. 1724 d. July 20, 1779), Glasgow's Skellat Bellman, travelled with Prince Charles' army and was the first to publish an account (advertised in the Glasgow Courant of September 29, 1746) at great risk to himself. His collected works in two volumes (One and Two) contain An Impartial Account of the Rise, Progress, and Extinction of the late Rebellion. This work is in meter and was published in at least twenty editions between 1746 and 1828. Sir Walter Scott put a lot of worth on Dougal's work and thought of editing it for the Bannatyne Club. This is the Ninth Edition dated 1812. Regrettably, there may be no copies of the all important 1st Edition (or the 2nd) left in existence.

Andrew Henderson, The Edinburgh History of the late Rebellion, 4th edition (1752).

A True and Full ACCOUNT of the late Bloody and Desperate Battle fought at Gladſmuir. This account was reprinted almost verbatim in the Scots Magazine of September 1745 and in History of the transactions in Scotland, in the years 1715-16, and 1745-46 Volume II by George Charles. The original formatting has been preserved (including long s and all ligatures [see reference page]).

Coming soon, Historical Papers Relating to the Jacobite Period 1699-1750. Edited By COLONEL JAMES ALLARDYCE Volumes One and Two.

This is the transcription of the 1802 John Home The History of the Rebellion in 1745.

James Dennistoun Memoirs of Sir Robert Strange Knt., engraver and of his brother Andrew Lumisden Volume One and Two.

Jacobite correspondence of the Atholl family: during the rebellion, M.DCC.XLV-M.DCC.XLVI.

Accounts of the Burning of the 'Rebel Colours' on 4th June 1746 at Edinburgh from History of the Carnegies, Earls of Southesk, and of their kindred (1867) - volumes one and two. At the Battle of Culloden Sir James Carnegie of Pittarrow, 3rd Bart., fought for the Duke (returning with him from Flanders). His younger brother, George Carnegie, afterwards of Pittarrow, fought in the same battle (alongside James Carnegie of Balnamoon), in support of Prince Charles.

The Adventures of Ranald Macdonald from seven years of age till his arrival at Warwick Hall describes life on the run after Culloden and is from The Family Memoir of the Macdonalds of Keppoch which was written for Mary Macdonald, who married Charles Stanley Constable, Esq.

So much misinfornation has been written about Flora Macdonald and her life that this book is essential to get to the facts - The Truth about Flora Macdonald.

Important events leading up to the forty-five were:

The Elopement of Princess Sobieska to marry the Old Chevalier. Also this version The Escape of Maria Clementina from Macmillan’s magazine volume 71, written by Andrew Lang in 1894 and this by Comte A. WODZINSKI Le Mariage de Marie-Clémentine Sobieska in the LA NOUVELLE REVUE of 1893.
The Siege of Edinburgh Castle in 1689. Also recounted in this edition of Siege of Edinburgh Castle of 1689 by the Ballantyne Club.
Most important were the Darien Scheme, the Porteus Riots, the Malt Tax, the Report of the Commission on the Glencoe Massacre from Miscellanea Scotica, Gallienus Redivivus or Murther will out, and the Union of the Crowns (and Acts of Union 1707). All of these events, and more, can be read in THE JACOBITE REBELLIONS (1689-1746) by J. Pringle Thomson.
The Darién Scheme run by the Company of Scotland and set up by Bank of England founder William Paterson on 26 June 1695.
The Escape of Lord Nithsdale from the Tower of London in a letter from his wife, Winifred Herbert, Countess of Nithsdale to her sister.
Allan Cameron’s Narrative demonstrates how the Jacobites repeated their attempt of 1715.
Revolutions d'Ecosse et d'Irlande en 1707, 1708 et 1709 - an account presented to the French Court by Nathaniel Hooke.

Following on from the process that began with the Glencoe Massacre, continued after the '45, and into the late 19th century was the depopulation of the Highlands known as The Highland Clearances. There are several later books such as Jacobite Gleanings from the State Manuscripts by J. Macbeth Forbes (includes a list of the 150 transported prisoners rescued from the Diamond out of Liverpool and headed for Antigua) and The spirit of Jacobite loyalty by William Garden Blaikie Murdoch. Although not a memoir, Scotland's Road of Romance paints an excellent picture of the Highlands and the places involved in the '45, so I have included it. There are a few general histories of the 1745 such as Memoirs of the Pretenders and their Adherents, Volume 2, by John Heneage Jesse and chapter eight of James Boswell's Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides with Samuel Johnson, LL.D. There is also this curious anecdote from Memoirs and Anecdotes of Philip Thicknesse regarding Prince Charles Edward Stuart meeting with Lady Touchet in 1744 and his visits to London. Also you might like the restoration of Monkstadt House. Trial of Archibald Macdonald, son to Coll Macdonald of Barisdale, as attainted of High Treason in A collection and abridgement of celebrated criminal trials in Scotland, from A.D. 1536 to 1784.

Coming soon will be all of the transcribed reports from the London Gazette, and the Caledonian Mercury, over the period of the 1745-6 rebellion. Here is the London Gazette Extraordinary of April 23, 1746 first announcing the defeat at Culloden and officially from the London Gazette of April 26, 1746 along with the surrender of the French, lists of killed and wounded, and captured weapons.

The Scots magazine, Volume 8 March 1746

From volume 16 of Gentleman's Magazine for October 1746 - Account of the Young Pretender’s Escape after the Battle of Culloden. November 1746 - Account of the Proceedings in trying the Rebel Prisoners at York.

William Shenstone's (English poet, gardener and collector b.1714 d.1763 ) ballad of Jemmy Dawson.

Bonnie Prince Charlie in Cumberland - J.A. Wheatley (1903)

The Book of the Old Edinburgh Club Volume II from 1909 (The Arms of Edinburgh are on the front of the book and the motto is Nisi Dominus Frustra - Except the Lord in Vain. [Psalm cxxvii, 1. Vulgate]) contains three interesting articles:

Edinburgh at the time of the Occupation of Prince Charles when it lived up to the name Auld Reekie.

... the Cannonball House

... the Flodden Wall and its pullout map.

The Ascanius Blog contains all of the versions available online of Ascanius; or, the Young Adventurer - Book One and Book Two and Alexis; or, the Young Adventurer. Finally, the 64-page pamphlet that started it all in December 1746 Ascanius; or, the Young Adventurer marked G. Smith.

A Tale of Fontenoy by G. A. Henty.

Waverley, or ‘tis sixty years since by Sir Walter Scott.

The Moon Endureth by John Buchan.

SONG For the Twenty-Ninth of May 1781. By a Member of the Royal Oak Society.