ABSTRACT
The Prince spent his twenty-fifth birthday fording the swollen River Esk at Longtown. Congratulations were reserved until Charles reached the other side so that it could be said he was both in England and in Scotland on his birthday. The Highlanders looked upon the crossing as a sporting challenge and a test of their own mettle. They marched into the water six abreast, each holding on to another’s collar. There was no hearty celebration on the other side, however, either for the Prince’s birthday or for the army’s return to Scotland. An unmistakable wave of resentment and suspicion toward Charles permeated the ranks of the chiefs, who saw scaffolds and entrail-burning fires staring them in the face unless limits were placed on their young leader. By January 6,1746, the army had retraced its steps as far as the Stirling area, having passed through the openly hostile city of Glasgow and losing at least five hundred deserters on the way.
