Under the 1743
Pacte de Famille, Louis XV and his uncle,
Philip V of Spain, agreed to co-operate against Britain, including an invasion to restore the Stuarts. In November 1743, Louis advised James this was planned for February 1744 and began assembling 12,000 troops and transports at
Dunkirk, selected because it was possible to reach the
Thames from there in a single tide. Since the
Royal Navy was well aware of this, the French squadron in
Brest made ostentatious preparations for putting to sea, in hopes of luring away their patrols. James remained in Rome while Charles made his way in secret to join the invasion force, but when Admiral
Roquefeuil's squadron left
Brest on 26 January 1744, the Royal Navy refused to follow. French naval operations against Britain often took place in the winter, when poor weather made it harder to enforce a blockade. Unfortunately, this worked both ways, and as in
1719, the invasion force was wrecked by storms. Several French ships were sunk and many others severely damaged, Roquefeuil himself being among the lives lost. In March, Louis cancelled the invasion and declared war on Britain. In 1738,
John Gordon of Glenbucket had proposed a landing in Scotland, which had been rejected by the French, and James himself. Seeking to revive this plan, in August Charles travelled to Paris where he met Sir
John Murray of Broughton, liaison between the Stuarts and their supporters in Scotland. Murray subsequently claimed to have advised against it, but that Charles was "determined to come [...] though with a single footman." When Murray returned to Edinburgh with this news, his colleagues reiterated their opposition to a rising without substantial French backing, but Charles gambled that once he was in Scotland, the French would have to support him. forced
Elizabeth to return to port with most of the weapons and volunteers He spent the first months of 1745 purchasing weapons, while
victory at Fontenoy in April encouraged the French authorities to provide him with two transport ships. These were the 16-gun
privateer Du Teillay and
Elizabeth, an elderly 64-gun warship captured from the British in 1704, which carried the weapons and 100 volunteers from the French Army's
Irish Brigade. In early July, Charles boarded
Du Teillay at
Saint-Nazaire accompanied by the "
Seven Men of Moidart", the most notable being Colonel
John O'Sullivan, an Irish exile and former French officer who acted as chief of staff. The two vessels left for the
Outer Hebrides on 15 July but were intercepted four days out by
HMS Lion, which engaged
Elizabeth. After a four-hour battle, both were forced to return to port; losing the
Elizabeth and its volunteers and weapons was a major setback, but
Du Teillay landed Charles at
Eriskay on 23 July. Many of those contacted advised him to return to France, including
MacDonald of Sleat and
Norman MacLeod. Aware of the likely penalties for defeat, they felt that by arriving without French military support, Charles had failed to keep his commitments and were unconvinced by his personal qualities. Sleat and MacLeod may also have been especially vulnerable to government sanctions, due to their involvement in illegally selling tenants into
indentured servitude. Enough were persuaded but the choice was rarely simple;
Donald Cameron of Lochiel committed himself only after Charles provided "security for the full value of his estate should the rising prove abortive," while MacLeod and Sleat helped him escape after Culloden. On 19 August, the rebellion was launched with the raising of the Royal Standard at
Glenfinnan, witnessed by what O'Sullivan estimated as around 700 Highlanders. This small Jacobite force used the new government-built roads to reach
Perth on 4 September, where they were joined by more sympathisers. They included
Lord George Murray, previously pardoned for participation in the 1715 and 1719 risings. O'Sullivan initially organised the Jacobite army along conventional military lines, but when Murray took over as chief of staff, he reverted to traditional Highland military structures and customs familiar to the majority of his recruits. The senior government legal officer in Scotland, Lord President of the Court of Session,
Duncan Forbes, 5th of Culloden, forwarded confirmation of the landing to London on 9 August. Many of the 3,000 soldiers available to
John Cope, the government commander in Scotland, were untrained recruits, and while he lacked information on Jacobite intentions, they were well-informed on his, as Murray had been one of his advisors. Forbes instead relied on his relationships to keep people loyal; he failed with Lochiel and
Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat but succeeded with many others, including
William Sutherland, Earl of Sutherland,
Clan Munro and
Kenneth Mackenzie, Lord Fortrose. On 17 September, Charles entered Edinburgh unopposed, although
Edinburgh Castle itself remained in government hands; James was proclaimed King of Scotland the next day and Charles his Regent. On 21 September, the Jacobites intercepted and scattered
Cope's army in less than 20 minutes at the
Battle of Prestonpans, just outside Edinburgh.
Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, commander of the British army in
Flanders, was recalled to London, along with 12,000 troops. To consolidate his support in Scotland, Charles published two "Declarations" on 9 and 10 October: the first dissolved the "pretended Union", the second rejected the Act of Settlement. He also instructed the
Caledonian Mercury to publish minutes of the 1695 Parliamentary enquiry into the
Glencoe Massacre, often used as an example of post-1688 oppression. ; while competent, poor relationships with Charles and O'Sullivan reduced his effectiveness Jacobite morale was further boosted in mid-October when the French landed supplies of money and weapons, together with an envoy, the
Marquis d'Éguilles, which seemed to validate claims of French backing. However,
David Wemyss, Lord Elcho later claimed his fellow Scots were already concerned by Charles' autocratic style and fears he was overly influenced by his Irish advisors. A "Prince's Council" of 15 to 20 senior leaders was established; Charles resented it as an imposition by the Scots on their divinely appointed monarch, while the daily meetings accentuated divisions between the factions. These internal tensions were highlighted by the meetings held on 30 and 31 October to discuss strategy. Most of the Scots wanted to consolidate their position and revive the pre-1707
Parliament of Scotland to help defend it against the "English armies" they expected to be sent against them. Charles was supported by the Irish exiles, for whom a Stuart on the British throne was the only way to achieve an autonomous, Catholic Ireland. Charles also claimed he was in contact with English supporters, who were simply waiting for their arrival, while d'Éguilles assured the council a French landing in England was imminent. Despite their doubts, the Council agreed to the invasion, on condition the promised English and French support was forthcoming. Previous Scottish incursions into England had crossed the border at
Berwick-upon-Tweed, but Murray selected a route via
Carlisle and the North-West of England, areas strongly Jacobite in 1715. The last elements of the Jacobite army left Edinburgh on 4 November and government forces under
General Handasyde retook the city on 14th. ==Invasion of England==