Battle of Prestonpans

Who Fought

History & Significance

The Battle of Prestonpans, 21 September 1745, took place near Prestonpans, in East Lothian. It was the first significant engagement of the Jacobite rising of 1745.

Jacobite forces, led by the exiled Charles Edward Stuart and George Murray, defeated a British government army under Sir John Cope, whose inexperienced troops broke in the face of a Highland charge. The battle lasted less than thirty minutes, was a huge boost to Jacobite morale, and established the revolt as a serious threat.

The War of the Austrian Succession began in 1740, and by 1745, much of the British Army was based in Flanders. Encouraged by French victory at Fontenoy in April 1745, Charles Edward Stuart sailed for Scotland in July, hoping to take advantage of the situation. On landing at Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides on 23 July, most of those contacted advised him to return to France, but enough were eventually persuaded, notably Donald Cameron of Lochiel, whose tenants provided a large proportion of the Jacobite force. The rebellion was formally launched at Glenfinnan on 19 August.

Sir John Cope, government commander in Scotland, was a competent soldier with between 3,000 and 4,000 troops available, but many were inexperienced recruits. He was hampered by poor intelligence and advice, particularly from the Marquess of Tweeddale, the Secretary of State for Scotland, who consistently underestimated the severity of the revolt. Once Charles's location was confirmed, Cope left his cavalry and artillery at Stirling under Thomas Fowke and marched on Corrieyairack Pass, the primary access point between the Western Highlands and the Lowlands. Control would allow Cope to block the route into Eastern Scotland, but he found the Highlanders already in possession and withdrew to Inverness on 26 August.

Jacobite objectives remained unclear until early September, when Cope learned they were using the military road network to advance on Edinburgh. Concluding that the only way to reach the city first was by sea, his troops were loaded onto ships at Aberdeen. They began disembarking at Dunbar on 17 September but once again he was too late: Charles had entered the Scottish capital earlier that day, although Edinburgh Castle remained in government hands.

Joined at Dunbar by Fowke and the cavalry, Cope was confident that he was strong enough to defeat a poorly armed Jacobite army of fewer than 2,000. At the same time Charles ordered his forces to move eastward from Edinburgh, and the two armies made contact on the afternoon of 20 September. Cope drew up his forces facing south, with a marshy area immediately in front, park walls protecting their right and cannon behind the embankment of the Tranent to Cockenzie Waggonway, which crossed the battlefield.

The ground they fought on

The site of Battle of Prestonpans lies on Clackmannan Group, bedrock that formed in the Westphalian. The rock here is sedimentary rock cycles, clackmannan group type.

Frequently Asked Questions

Scheduled Monuments near Battle of Prestonpans

Seton West Mains, enclosures 500m SW of

Scheduled monument · Post-Medieval · ~0.2 mi

Seton West Mains is a post-medieval agricultural enclosures complex located in East Lothian, Scotland, approximately 500 metres south-west of the main settlement at Seton. The site comprises field divisions and stock enclosures characteristic of the early modern period reorganisation of Scottish…

Tranent Tower

Scheduled monument · ~0.6 mi

Tranent Tower is a late medieval fortified tower house located in East Lothian, Scotland. The structure dates from the sixteenth century and represents a typical example of the smaller defensive domestic architecture constructed during the period of increased border tensions and local feuding tha…

Preston Tower and Dovecot

Scheduled monument · ~0.7 mi

Preston Tower is a late medieval tower house located in East Lothian, Scotland, dating to the fifteenth or sixteenth century. The structure represents a defensive residence typical of the period, built to provide both domestic accommodation and protection for its occupants against the lawlessness…

Seton Collegiate Church

Scheduled monument · ~1.2 mi

Seton Collegiate Church is a fifteenth-century ecclesiastical foundation located in East Lothian, Scotland. The church was established as a collegiate institution, a form of religious community common in late medieval Scotland, and reflects the wealth and piety of the Seton family who held consid…

South Lodge, enclosure 200m SE of

Scheduled monument · Post-Medieval · ~1.4 mi

South Lodge is a post-medieval enclosure located 200 metres south-east of [location name] in East Lothian, Scotland. The monument is protected by Historic Environment Scotland under reference SM10373. The enclosure dates to the period following the sixteenth century, when such structures became c…

Seton Mains, fort

Scheduled monument · Iron Age · ~1.7 mi

Seton Mains is a fort dating to the Iron Age, located in East Lothian in the Scottish Lowlands. The monument occupies ground underlain by Clackmannan Group sedimentary rocks, formed during the Westphalian period of the Carboniferous age. This solid geology would have provided a stable foundation…

Other Jacobite Risings Battles

Battles near Battle of Prestonpans

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• Battle of Prestonpans · Wikidata
• Battle_of_Prestonpans · Wikipedia
• Battle of Prestonpans · BritishBattles.com
• UKFOC 273 · Battlefields Trust (UK Fields of Conflict)
• Battle of Prestonpans · Historic Environment Scotland