Hessian troops, hired by the British government to reinforce the forces opposing the Jacobites, encamped at Linlithgow in the weeks before Falkirk Muir. Jacobite cavalry parties from the besieging force at Stirling raided the Hessian encampment area, disrupting their supply operations and driving off horses and cattle. The Hessian troops — experienced German mercenaries — were not routed but their patrols were harassed by Highland cavalry who knew the terrain. The presence of Hessians in the campaign gave it a European dimension — the Jacobite rising had become entangled in the War of the Austrian Succession and Britain was using continental mercenaries against its own subjects.
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