General Henry Hawley marched from Edinburgh in January 1746 with some 8,000 troops to relieve the Jacobite siege of Stirling Castle. He was supremely confident of victory — reputedly saying the Highlanders could not stand against cavalry and hanging one of his own dragoons for showing fear. Lord George Murray manoeuvred the Jacobite army onto the high ground of Falkirk Muir before Hawley realised what was happening. Hawley was eating lunch when the battle began. The subsequent government rout at Falkirk Muir was one of the most complete Jacobite victories of the '45, though achieved too late to change the strategic outcome.
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