Prestonpans, 1745: the forgotten Jacobite victory

In September 1745, an army of British regulars mustered near the village of Prestonpans on the shores of the Firth of Forth, ready to battle an enemy whom they regarded as savages. The Redcoats saw the Highland Scots, from the mountainous north of Britain, as little better than the indigenous natives whom some had encountered while campaigning in North America. The commander of the Redcoats was Sir John Cope. He was supremely confident of victory. Although the two sides were equal in number, Cope had more cavalry and artillery, and his infantry was trained to deliver well-aimed volleys. Facing west, moreover – towards Edinburgh, from which his opponents had marched – there were the wa