Darren Scott Layne Phd Thesis
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SPINES OF THE THISTLE THE POPULAR CONSTITUENCY OF THE JACOBITE RISING IN 1745-6 Darren Scott Layne A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews 2016 Full metadata for this item is available in St Andrews Research Repository at: http://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/8868 This item is protected by original copyright This item is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence SPINES OF THE THISTLE The Popular Constituency of the Jacobite Rising in 1745-6 DARREN SCOTT LAYNE This thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of St Andrews September 2015 ABSTRACT This thesis examines the social record of popular Jacobitism during the 1745 Rising as expressed through its plebeian constituency. Such an assessment fills in the gaps largely ignored by scholars of the Jacobite period, who instead tend to concentrate upon the elites and the political and doctrinal ideologies espoused by influential gentry. Using a purpose-built database to compile and analyse a large number of resources including lists of prisoners, trial records, muster rolls, and government papers, a prosopographical survey of over 15,000 persona entries is presented. The study looks at four thematic aspects of popular Jacobitism, which describe motivation, constituency, recruitment, and consequences. These combine to provide a social profile of the ‘lesser sort’ of those persons involved in rebellion against the Hanoverian government, whether martial or civilian. The results suggest that practicality was a major influence in drawing the common people into civil war, and that the ideological tenets of Jacobitism, much diluted by 1745, took a backseat to issues of necessity. Widespread ambivalence to the political climate made harsh recruiting methods necessary, and rampant desertion reinforced that need until the army’s defeat at Culloden. The willing and unwilling supporters of Charles Edward Stuart’s landing in Scotland represented local, national, and international interests and stretched across class divides. Civilians contributed to the effort along with the soldiers, but limited martial support both domestic and foreign was insufficient to sustain the Stuart-sanctioned coup and the exiled dynasty’s hopes for a subsequent restoration. Understanding that weak punitive measures after 1715 enabled yet another rising thirty years later, the government’s response after Culloden was swift and brutal. Though its campaigns of containment and suppression strained the resources of the judicial system, effective punishment was seen as a necessity, dominating British policy even as it was involved in a larger war on the Continent. This thesis demonstrates that plebeians used by the Jacobite elites were ill-equipped to support the strategies of the cause, yet they ultimately bore the brunt of the reparations for treasonous expressions, however questionable their commitment may have been. 2 DECLARATION 1. Candidate’s declarations: I, Darren S. Layne, hereby certify that this thesis, which is approximately 80,000 words in length, has been written by me, and that it is the record of work carried out by me, or principally by myself in collaboration with others as acknowledged, and that it has not been submitted in any previous application for a higher degree. I was admitted as a research student in September 2011 and as a candidate for the degree of PhD in September 2011; the higher study for which this is a record was carried out in the University of St Andrews between 2011 and 2015. Date: Signature of Candidate: 2. Supervisor’s declaration: I hereby certify that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resolution and Regulations appropriate for the degree of PhD in the University of St Andrews and that the candidate is qualified to submit this thesis in application for that degree. Date: Signature of Supervisor: 3. Permission for publication: In submitting this thesis to the University of St Andrews I understand that I am giving permission for it to be made available for use in accordance with the regulations of the University Library for the time being in force, subject to any copyright vested in the work not being affected thereby. I also understand that the title and the abstract will be published, and that a copy of the work may be made and supplied to any bona fide library or research worker, that my thesis will be electronically accessible for personal or research use unless exempt by award of an embargo as requested below, and that the library has the right to migrate my thesis into new electronic forms as required to ensure continued access to the thesis. I have obtained any third-party copyright permissions that may be required in order to allow such access and migration, or have requested the appropriate embargo below. The following is an agreed request by candidate and supervisor regarding the publication of this thesis: A) Printed Copy: No embargo on printed copy. B) Electronic Copy: No embargo on electronic copy. Date: Signature of Candidate: Date: Signature of Supervisor: 3 CONTENTS ABSTRACT 2 DECLARATION 3 CONTENTS 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 6 STYLISTIC NOTES 9 ABBREVIATIONS 10 CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ATAVISM VERSUS PROGRESS 11 METHODOLOGY AND JDB1745 17 SOURCES 20 LIMITATIONS 26 CONTEXT & ORGANISATION 29 CHAPTER II: MOTIVATION YE JACOBITES BY NAME 34 DEGREES OF LOYALTY 37 FOR KING AND COUNTRY 38 LOCALITY, INFLUENCE, AND MEMORY 52 CONFESSIONAL FREEDOMS 58 ‘THE FETID SOUP OF DISCONTENT’ 62 FOREIGN SERVICE 67 IMPRESSMENT AND COERCION 71 IDEOLOGY VERSUS PRACTICE 75 CHAPTER III: CONSTITUENCY PUBLIC AND PRIVATE REPRESENTATION 80 MILITARY MIGHT AND CIVILIAN LOGISTICS 85 SYSTEMS OF QUANTIFICATION 93 REGIONAL 96 CONFESSIONAL 98 OCCUPATIONAL 103 REGIMENTAL 107 AGE 111 GENDER 115 DEMOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS 120 CHAPTER IV: RECRUITMENT CHARACTER OF THE ARMY 122 CATEGORIES OF RECRUITS 126 VOLUNTEERS 127 FEUS AND JURISDICTIONS 133 FENCIBLES AND PURCHASED MEN 137 PRESSED AND FORCED 143 FOREIGN REGULARS 154 BRITISH ARMY DESERTERS 157 PATTERNS OF RECRUITMENT 159 IDENTITY, RESISTANCE, AND DESERTION 162 ANALYSIS AND IRONY 167 4 CHAPTER V: CONSEQUENCES FITTING THE CRIME 172 CAPTURE AND CONDITIONS 177 THE ROLE OF THE CLERGY 183 GATHERING OF WITNESSES 192 EVIDENCE AND INFORMATION 197 TRIALS AND SENTENCING 203 THE COSTS OF REBELLION 208 MANIA AND OPPORTUNITY 218 THE NATURE OF BLAME 222 CHAPTER VI: CONCLUSION FROM THE BOTTOM UP 227 A FAREWELL TO ARMS 230 APPENDICES I. NOTES ON TECHNICAL METHODOLOGY 233 II. JACOBITE CONSTITUENCY BY NATION 1745-6 236 III. JACOBITE CONSTITUENCY IN SCOTLAND 1745-6 237 IV. JACOBITE CONSTITUENCY IN ANGUS AND INVERNESS-SHIRE 1745-6 238 V. JACOBITE CONSTITUENCY BY FAITH 1745-6 239 VI. JACOBITE CONSTITUENCY, FAITH BY COUNTY 1745-6 240 VII. JACOBITE CONSTITUENCY BY OCCUPATION 1745-6 241 VIII. JACOBITE OCCUPATION BY SECTOR 1745-6 242 IX. JACOBITE CONSTITUENCY BY REGIMENT 1745-6 243 X. JACOBITE CONSTITUENCY BY AGE 1745-6 245 XI. LIST OF JACOBITES IN FRASERBURGH 246 XII. JACOBITE IMPRESSMENT 1745-6 247 XIII. PRISONERS IN FRENCH SERVICE 1745-7 249 XIV. BRITISH ARMY DESERTERS IN JACOBITE SERVICE 1745-7 250 XV. WITNESSES FOR PRISONERS AT NEWGATE 1746 252 XVI. PRISONERS ON SUSPICION 1745-7 253 XVII. WADE’S DECLARATION OF INDEMNITY, OCTOBER 30 1745 254 XVIII. JACOBITE TRIALS AT CARLISLE, 9-27 SEPTEMBER 1746 255 XIX. JACOBITE TRIALS AT SOUTHWARK, 23 JUNE 1746-DECEMBER 1747 256 XX. JACOBITE TRIALS AT YORK, 2-7 OCTOBER 1746 257 XXI. JACOBITE INDICTMENTS 1746-8 258 XXII. JACOBITE EXECUTIONS 1746-53 259 XXIII. GOLDSMITH ACCUSATIONS, EDINBURGH 1746 260 BIBLIOGRAPHY MANUSCRIPT SOURCES 261 PUBLISHED PRIMARY SOURCES 263 NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES 266 SECONDARY SOURCES 267 JOURNAL ARTICLES 273 UNPUBLISHED THESES 277 TECHNICAL SOURCES 277 WEBSITES 278 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Though the work herein is the product of one person, the inspirational and energetic structure around it has most assuredly been a collective effort. For this reason, many sincere thanks must be expressed to a variety of disparate supporters who made their presences known during the four years of work undertaken in this programme. Without question, at the very top of this list is Halsted Bernard, my wife, partner in crime, and my very best friend. Her generosity, kindness, encouragement, strength, and selflessness – all which has been utterly unflagging – surely deserves to be awarded its own degree. Though I had warned her on many occasions that marrying me likely meant picking up and moving across the world, spending countless hours in dusty archives and academies, and pretending to be interested in the staccato ramblings of self-involved historians, she somehow took it all in stride and can still manage to tolerate my presence. In addition, her formidable technical and library skills have helped to provide what sometimes has felt like an unfair advantage. For all of these things, I am eternally grateful. Pertaining to the academy, massive thanks first go to my supervisor, Prof Steve Murdoch, who slyly lured me from a comfortable civilian life back into the sandbox of academia. I am thankful for his knowledge, patience, support, good humour, and intellectual sobriety – likely the only measure of him that remains so. A select number of pivotal figures who I have grown up studying have subsequently offered their encouragement and assistance, as well as their interest in my sometimes contentious project. Of these, I wish to thank Prof Daniel Szechi, Prof Allan Macinnes, Prof Murray Pittock, Prof Paul Monod, Prof Christopher Duffy, Prof Roger Mason, and Dr Frank McLynn. Sincere thanks also go to Dr Alasdair Raffe, Dr Mark Jardine, Dr Gordon Pentland, Dr Kathrin Zickermann, Dr Claire Hawes, Dr Konrad Lawson, Dr Alan Macniven, Dr Kelsey Jackson Williams, Dr David Bertie, Dr Katy Mair, Dr Alexia Grosjean, Dr Ed Furgol, Prof Paul Pickering, and the Reverend Dr Emsley Nimmo.