In the fateful year of 1745, the twenty-five year-old set sail for Scotland in July with followers who came to be known as the 'Seven Men of Moidart'. They were a strange collection of personalities who gained that name from the district where they landed at Loch nan Uamh on the northwest coast of the Highlands. Their objective was to persuade the clans to rise once again to support the restoration of the 'Auld Pretender' to the throne of the United Kingdom, although he had expressly forbidden his son to undertake that mission.

      Many of the clans who had participated in the earlier failed risings were opposed to another without direct support from the French and tried to persuade the Prince to return to France. However, Prince Charles was exceptionally persuasive and some of them chose to participate in still another although it was perhaps against their better judgment. The Prince raised the Jacobite standard at Glen Finnan on 19 August and shortly thereafter, the Jacobite Highland army set out for Edinburgh.

      News of the rising reached Edinburgh a few days after the Prince landed. The Hanoverian commander, General Sir John Cope, hastily assembled a government force and set out to crush the rebellion before it could gather strength. Cope reached Dalwhinnie in late August and Ewan Macpherson of Cluny, who held a commission of captain in the Earl of Loudoun's Highland Regiment of the British Army, had met Cope at the Drumochter Pass and accompanied him there. Although Lachlan of Cluny was still the chief, he had made his son the effective leader of the Clan. Cope failed to recognize that Ewan was not just a young captain but the leader of a powerful Highland clan and kept him prisoner for two days before dismissing him with discourtesy. In the meantime, Cope's force started moving to intercept the Jacobites before they had crossed the Corrieyarrick. But he was too late. The Jacobites had already done that and held the high ground with a force that outnumbered the Hanoverians. When he learned of this, Cope fearing for his safety, ordered his force to proceed to Inverness leaving Badenoch exposed to the potential harm from the advancing Jacobite army.

      One of the staunchest supporters of the government was Duncan Forbes of Culloden, who at the time was President of the Court of Session, the highest civil court of Scotland. He recognized the potential for disaster for the Highlands should the clans rise again and went to extraordinary lengths to head off such an eventuality by a fervid correspondence with the clan leaders including Cluny. At his behest Cluny had sent Donald Macpherson of Breakachie to Lochaber to dissuade his cousin, Donald Cameron of Locheil from joining the Jacobite rebellion. He also sent James Macpherson of Killiehuntly to Edinburgh to offer the Clan's services to the Duke of Argyll, who was expected to be the commander of the government forces in Scotland. Both missions failed.

      When the Jacobite army reached Badenoch, Cluny was taken prisoner and carried south to Perth. There he saw many Lowland gentlemen who had joined the rebellion -- among them Lord George Murray, a tactical expert who became the commander of the Jacobite army -- and was persuaded to raise his clan in support of the Prince. Before leaving Badenoch, the Jacobite army attempted to take Ruthven Barracks which was being held by Sgt. Malloy and eleven soldiers who made a successful defence until many months later when artillery was brought to bear on the Barracks.

      Cluny returned to Badenoch and set about raising a regiment as he had agreed to do. The Highland army proceeded on to the south meeting no resistance worthy of the name, the bulk of the government forces having gone to Inverness where they prepared to embark on Royal navy ships for the south. Prince Charles Edward entered Edinburgh on 17 September, the same day that Cope's force disembarked at Dunbar, some 25 miles to the east. On the assumption that the Jacobite army would attack from the west, Cope marched to Prestonpans, 8 miles to the east of Edinburgh, and deployed his force there to await reinforcements. Lord George circled around to the south of Cope's position undetected and attacked at dawn on the 21st from the east, taking Cope by surprise from the rear. The ensuing battle lasted only ten minutes and resulted in complete rout of the government force. Prince Charles returned to Edinburgh in triumph as shown in the etching at the right.