Battle of Preston (1715)

Battle of Preston (1715)
Public domain · source
Conflict	Jacobite rising of 1715
Partof	the Jacobite risings
Date	9–14 November 1715
Place	Preston and surrounding Lancashire, England
Result	Government victory; Jacobite surrender
Combatant1	Great Britain (Hanoverian supporters)
Combatant2	Jacobites
Commander1	Charles Wills; William Stanhope
Commander2	Thomas Forster; Henry Oxburgh; Fighting Mackintosh
Strength1	Infantry, cavalry, artillery from British Army and Hull garrisons
Strength2	Highland and English Jacobite risings, Lancashire rebels
Casualties1	Light
Casualties2	Approximately 500–1,000 prisoners and killed/wounded

Battle of Preston (1715)

The engagement at Preston in November 1715 was a culminating action of the Jacobite rising of 1715 in which a mainly English and Scottish Jacobite force was blockaded and forced to surrender to government troops under Charles Wills and allied commanders. The confrontation involved urban fighting, street barricades, and the first large-scale capitulation of Jacobite forces in England during the rising, affecting subsequent policy under King George I and military careers within the British Army and Hanoverian succession context.

Background

In the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution and the accession of George I, Jacobite supporters of the exiled Old Pretender organized uprisings in Scotland and England, culminating in the 1715 campaign. The Lancashire rising linked local Jacobite networks including the Society of the Friends of the Stuart Line and Highland contingents led by figures associated with the Clan Mackintosh, John Erskine, Earl of Mar, and other Jacobite nobles. Political tensions among Tory and Whig factions, diplomatic manoeuvres involving the Treaty of Utrecht, and earlier risings such as the 1690s Jacobite conspiracies set the strategic stage for clashes between Jacobite insurgents and government forces under commanders appointed by the Whig Junto and ministers like Robert Walpole.

Prelude and March to Preston

Following initial successes at gatherings in Yorkshire, Northumberland, and Lancashire, a mixed force of English Jacobites led in the field by Thomas Forster—a landowner with limited military experience—and advisers including Henry Oxburgh and Francis Mackintosh moved south from Carlisle and Scotland. News of setbacks at the Battle of Sheriffmuir and the failure of coordinated action with the Scottish Jacobite command left Forster’s corps isolated. Government detachments under Charles Wills, supported by cavalry from Charles Mohun’s allies and infantry elements associated with regiments of the British Army, mobilized from garrisons in Lancaster, Manchester, and Blackburn. The Jacobite column entered Preston seeking supplies and defensive ground, while communications with insurgent leaders in Scotland and correspondence to the exiled court of James Francis Edward Stuart failed to secure relief.

The Battle and Siege

Government forces under Charles Wills and subordinate commanders invested Preston, surrounding the town and cutting off escape routes toward Wigan and the West Riding. Urban combat unfolded with barricades erected in streets, fighting in the market square, and skirmishes near the River Ribble crossings. Artillery and disciplined volleys by regulars from regiments raised after the War of the Spanish Succession pressured Jacobite positions. Attempts by Jacobite leaders to break the encirclement and coordinate sorties were repulsed by cavalry patrols and infantry discipline instilled under commanders loyal to George I. After several days of bombardment, rising casualties, dwindling ammunition, and the absence of reinforcements prompted Forster and his officers, including Oxburgh and elements of the Clan Mackintosh contingent, to negotiate terms; the defenders capitulated, surrendering arms and prisoners to Wills and allied officers.

Aftermath and Casualties

The surrender at Preston resulted in the capture of several hundred Jacobite combatants, with estimates of killed and wounded varying among contemporary reports and later historians. Prominent Jacobite figures taken included officers such as Henry Oxburgh and other field leaders; many rank-and-file were detained and later tried for treason in courts held in Lancaster and other locations. Government losses were comparatively light, though some regimental casualties and civilian damage within Preston were recorded. Following imprisonment, several captured leaders faced execution or transportation, influencing the legal aftermath administered by officials under Secretary of State authority and drawing attention from political actors in London and at the Court of Saint James's.

Political and Military Significance

The Preston capitulation signalled a decisive setback for the 1715 rising, undermining hopes of coordinated Stuart restoration and reinforcing the security of George I’s regime against domestic insurrection. Military lessons from the engagement informed later British responses to the Jacobite rising of 1745 and reforms within the British Army regarding suppression of insurrections, militia organization tied to counties like Lancashire and Yorkshire, and the role of cavalry versus irregular infantry. Politically, prosecutions and clemency decisions involving captured Jacobites affected Tory-Whig rivalry, influenced figures such as Robert Walpole and William Stanhope, and shaped Hanoverian attempts to deter foreign support for the House of Stuart from continental powers including those involved in the War of the Spanish Succession aftermath. The episode at Preston remains cited in studies of early 18th-century British internal security, legal repercussions for treason, and the complex networks connecting English Jacobites to Scottish and Irish sympathizers.

Category:Battles involving Great Britain Category:Jacobite rising of 1715